Types of Arthritis :

Some of the more common types of arthritis are:

Common arthritis symptoms of pain and stiffness are usually caused by degenerative arthritis (osteoarthritis – the most common chronic joint condition).

Osteoarthritis: The most common type. It causes the cartilage on the ends of bones to wear away. That makes the bones rub against each other. Patient might have pain in his/her fingers, knees or hips.

The cartilage breakdown, or degeneration, of osteoarthritis often happens with age. This is why osteoarthritis is also called degenerative joint disease. But if there are other causes, it can begin much sooner. For example, an athletic injury like a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) or a fracture near a joint can lead to arthritis. It can happen in any joint but most often affects the hands and weight-bearing joints such as the knee, hip, and facet joints (in the spine).

Allopathic arthritis treatment

The allopathic drug’s goal of treatment is to provide pain relief, increase joint mobility and strength, and control the disease as much as possible.

In addition to painkillers, allopathic doctor may recommend corticosteroid joint injections to ease the pain and stiffness of affected joints (which will potentially cause the joint to further deteriorate).

Allopathic treatments available include:

• Physical therapy
• Home remedies and dieting regime
• Alternate medication
• Splinting
• Cold-pack application
• Paraffin wax dips
• Anti-inflammatory drugs
• Pain medications (ranging from pain-relieving over-the-counter medications such as acetaminophen, diclofenac, tramadol, gabapentin, acetaminophen, oxycodone, oxycontin, naproxen, piroxicam. meloxicam, hydrocodone, tylenol, ibuprofen etc…to narcotics)
• Immunosuppressants/Immune-altering medications
• Biologic medications (Homeopathic)
• Surgical operations (including joint replacement surgery)

Pain from osteoarthritis of the knee can be relieved by hyaluronic acid injections. Rheumatoid arthritis can require medications that suppress the immune system (disease-modifying medications). Low back arthritis that is irritating the nerves of the spine can require surgical repair.

For more on treatments of particular forms of arthritis, see the corresponding articles for the form of arthritis of interest on www.dixecosmetics.com

Homeopathic treatment for Arthritis

Rhus toxicodendron

Hot, painful swelling of joints. Swollen face, Jaws pain and/or cracking. Pains tearing in tendons, ligaments, and fasciae. Rheumatic pains spread over a large surface at nape of neck, loins, back and extremities; better motion.

Soreness of condyles of bones. Limbs stiff paralyzed. Pain along ulnar nerve. Tearing down thighs. Sciatica. Numbness and formication. Paralysis; trembling after exertion. Tenderness about knee-joint. Loss of power in forearm and fingers; crawling sensation in the fingertips. Tingling in feet. Cardiac hypertrophy.

Urinary dark, turbid, high-colored, scanty urine, with white sediment. Dysuria, with loss of blood.

Bryonia Alba

Knees stiff and painful. Hot swelling of feet. Joints red, swollen, hot, with stitches and tearing; worse on least movement. Every spot is painful on pressure. Constant motion of left arm and leg. Spinal Pain, stiffness. stiffness in nape of neck. Urine red, brown, scanty, hot.

Agaricus Muscarious

Stiff all over. Pain over hips. Rheumatism better motion. Weakness in loins. Uncertain gait. Trembling. Itching of toes and feet. Cramp in soles of feet. Pain in shin-bone. Neuralgia in locomotor ataxia. Paralysis of lower limbs, with spasmodic condition of arms. Numbness of legs on crossing them. Paralytic pain in left arm followed by heartbeat/palpitation. Tearing painful contractions in the calves. Back pain, with sensitiveness of spine to touch; worse in dorsal region. Lumbago. Crick in back. Twitching of cervical muscles.

Heart: Irregular, tumultuous palpitation. Stitches in urethra. Sudden and violent urging to urinate. Frequent urination.

Dulcamara

Paralysis; paralyzed limbs, feet icy cold. Warts on hands. Perspiration on palms of hands. Pain in shin-bones. Rheumatism alternates with diarrhoea. Rheumatic symptoms after acute skin eruptions. Back: Stiff neck. Pain in small of back. Stiffness and lameness across neck and shoulders. Strangury, painful micturition. Urine has thick, mucous, purulent sediment.

Apis Melifistida

Synovitis. Felon in beginning. Knee swollen, shiny, sensitive, sore, with stinging pain. Feet swollen and stiff. Rheumatic pain in back and limbs; Tired, bruised feeling. Numbness of hands and tips of fingers. Hives with intolerable itching. Edematous swellings.

Urine: Burning and soreness when urinating. Suppressed, loaded with casts; frequent and involuntary; stinging pain and strangury; scanty, high colored. Incontinence. Last drops burn and smart.

Arnica Montana

Gout. Sensitive to touch/painful. Pain in back and limbs. Sprained and dislocated feeling. Soreness after overexertion. Everything on which he lies seems too hard. Deathly coldness of forearm. Cannot walk erect, on account of bruised pain in pelvic region. Rheumatism begins low down and works up. Urine retained from over-exertion. Dark brick-red sediment. Vesical tenesmus with very painful micturition.

Angina pectoris; pain especially severe in elbow of left arm. Stitches in heart. Pulse feeble and irregular. Cardiac dropsy with distressing dyspnoea. Extremities distended, feel bruised and sore. Fatty heart and hypertrophy.

Urtica Urens

Rheumatic pain in arms and ankles. Anaemia. Calculus renalis. Deltoideus rheumatism. Dysentery. Vesicular erysipelas. Erythema. Gout. Gravel. Haemorrhages. Intermittents fevers. Lactation. Leucorrhoea. Menorrhagia. Phlegmasia dolens. Renal colic. Rheumatism. Spleen infections. Throat infections. Uraemia. Urticaria nodosa. Vertigo. Whooping-cough. Worms.

Rhododendron

Rheumatic and gouty symptoms well marked. Rheumatism in the hot season. Joints swollen. Gouty inflammation of great toe-joint. Rheumatic tearing in all limbs, especially right side; worse, at rest and in stormy weather. Stiffness of neck. Pain in shoulders, arms, wrists; worse when at rest. Pains in bones in spots, and reappear by change of weather. Cannot sleep unless legs are crossed. Amenorrhoea. Asthenopia. Bone pains. Bunions. Chorea. Ciliary neuralgia. Coryza. Delirium. Diarrhoea. Diphtheritic paralysis. Earache. Epistaxis. Eyes infections. Fever. Hydrocele. Lienteria. Lumbago. Weak wemor. Neuralgia. Nightmare. Ovarian and/or vagainal cyst. Spleen inflammation. Sprains. Stiff-neck. Tinnitus. Toothache. Wrists,pains.

Hypericum Perforatum

Darting pain in shoulders. Pressure along ulnar side of arm. Cramp in calves. Pain in toes and fingers, especially in tips. Crawling in hand and feet. Lancinating pain in upper and lower limbs. Neuritis, with tingling, burning pain, numbness and flossy skin. Joints feel bruised. Hysterical joints. Tetanus. Traumatic neuralgia and neuritis. Pain in nape of neck. Pressure over sacrum. Spinal concussion. Coccyx injury from fall, with pain radiating up spine and down limbs. Jerking and twitching of muscles.

Ruta Gravenol

Spine and limbs sever pain. Small of back and loins pain. Legs give out on rising from a chair, hips and thighs so weak. Contraction of fingers. Pain and stiffness in wrists and hands. Ganglia. Sciatica; worse, lying down at night; pain from back down hips and thighs. Hamstrings feel shortened. Tendons sore. Aching pain in tendo-Achilles. Thighs pain when stretching the limbs. Pain in bones of feet and ankles. Great restlessness.

Causticum

Sciatica, with numbness. Paralysis of single parts. Dull, tearing pain in hands and arms. Heaviness and weakness. Tearing joints. Unsteadiness of muscles of forearm and hand. Numbness; loss of sensation in hands. Contracted tendons. Weak ankles. Rheumatic tearing in limbs. Burning in joints. Slow in learning to walk. Unsteady walking and easily falling. Restless legs at night. Cracking and tension in knees; stiffness in hollow of knee. Itching on dorsum of feet. Stiffness between shoulders. Dull pain in nape of neck.

Urine involuntary when coughing, sneezing. Expelled very slowly, and sometimes retained. Involuntary during first sleep at night; also from slightest excitement. Retention after surgical operations. Loss of sensibility on passing urine.

Pulsatilla

Drawing, tensive pain in thighs and legs, with restlessness, sleeplessness and chilliness. Pain in limbs, shifting rapidly; tensive pain, letting up with a snap. Numbness around elbow. Hip-joint painful. Knees swollen, with tearing, drawing pains. Boring pain in heels toward evening; suffering worse from letting the affected limb hang down. Veins in forearms and hands swollen. Feet red, inflamed, swollen. Legs feel heavy and weary. Shooting pain in the nape and back, between shoulders; in sacrum after sitting.

Actaea Spicata

Tearing pains in loins. Rheumatic pains in small joints, wrist, fingers, ankles, toes. Swelling of joints from slight fatigue. Wrist swollen, red, worse any motion. Paralytic weakness in the hands. Lame feeling in arms. Pain in knee. Sudden lassitude after talking or eating.

Caulophyllum

Severe drawing, erratic pain and stiffness in small joints, fingers, toes, ankles, etc. Aching in wrists. Cutting pains on closing hands. Erratic pains, changing place every few minutes. Rheumatic gout. Rheumatism.

Benzoic Acidum

Joints crack on motion. Tearing with stitches. Pain in tendo Achillis. Rheumatic gout; nodes very painful. Gouty deposits. Ganglion; swelling of the wrist. Pain and swelling in knees. Bunion of great toe. Tearing pain in great toe. Pressure on spinal column. Coldness in sacrum. Dull pain in kidneys.

Urine repulsive odor; changeable color; brown, acid. Enuresis; dribbling, offensive urine of old men. Excess of uric acid. Vesical catarrh from suppressed gonorrhoea. Cystitis.

Guaicum

Rheumatic pain in shoulders, arms and hands. Growing pains. Pricking in nates. Sciatica and lumbago. Gouty tearing, with contractions. Immovable stiffness. Ankle pain extending up the leg, causing lameness. Joints swollen, painful, and intolerant of pressure; can bear no heat. Stinging pain in limbs. Arthritic lancinations followed by contraction of limbs. A feeling of heat in the affected limbs. Pain from head to neck. Aching in nape. Stiff neck and sore shoulders. Stitches between scapulae to occiput. Contractive pain between scapula. Sharp stitches after urinating. Constant desire.  Rheumatic sore throat with weak throat muscles.

Arctium Lappa

Rheumatic and gouty pains. Soreness of muscles. Dull pains with high-coloured urine; weary and sleepy. Rheumatic pains entirely relieved by onset of diarrhoea. Pains in joints.-Sharp, darting, fugitive pains in tendons (Dupuytren’s contractions). Bunion. Pains in back about eighth dorsal vertebra. Milky phosphatic urine.

Ledum palustre

Ledum Paul is a best choice for arthritis and gout. The great symptom is – acute, tearing pains in the joints; weakness of the limbs and numbness and coldness of the surface; Pain going from below upwards; Pain in small joints; Nodes form in them and the pains travel up the limbs. The pains are made worse from warmth. The effusion into the joints is scanty and it soon hardens and forms the nodosities.

Calcarea Flour

Chief remedy for vascular tumors with dilated blood-vessels, cardiac diseases and for varicose or enlarged veins. Aneurysm. Valvular disease. When the tuberculous toxins attack the heart and blood-vessels. Ganglia or encysted tumors at the back of the wrist. Gouty enlargements of the joints of the fingers. Exostoses on fingers. Chronic synovitis of knee-joint. Chronic lumbago; aggravated on beginning to move, and ameliorated on continued motion. Osseous tumors. Rachitic enlargement of femur in infants. Pain lower part of back, with burning.

Calcarea Carbonica

It is an important medicines for Osteoarthritis especially of knee joints. There is mild swelling and pain in the deeper portion of the joint, pain generally worse in cold damp weather.

Like Rhus tox in Calcarea carb the pain is also aggravated when getting up from a sitting position and also by walking. Best for fatty and obese constitutionally and tendency to catch cold easily – patients.

Rhododendron

Rheumatic pains which wander from joint to joint with swelling, worse before or during thunderstorm, cold or wet or unsettled weather. Better from warm wrapping. Enlargement of joints not due to gouty deposits but – Arthritic nodes.

Kalmia Latifolia

Kalmia have wandering pains, and it is especially useful in pains affecting the chest i.e. the cost chondral articulation. It has also tearing pain in legs, without swelling; neuralgic type of pain. The pain from the chest portion shoot down into the stomach and abdomen (could be cardiac pain). Sometimes the pain from chest traverse downwards in arm. The pain is always attended or succeeded by numbness of the part.

Colchicum

Great remedy for gout. The typical case calling for colchicum is where the swelling is red or pale, with extreme tenderness to touch, a tendency to shift about from joint to joint, and pains worse on the slightest motion. The smaller joints, fingers, toes, wrist and ankles, are affected; the pains are very violent, patient can not bear to have the parts touched or to have anyone near him, worse towards evening,  a red big toe joint – Inflamed

If the general symptoms of great prostration of the muscular system and abdominal bloating be present colchicum is the remedy.

Abrotanum

Limbs – Inability to move. Marasmus of lower extremities, Soreness and lameness; worse mornings. Chilblains itch; frost-bitten limbs. Gout in wrists and ankles. Inflammatory rheumatism before swelling begins; metastatic rheumatism, metastasis of rheumatism from joints to heart; to spine etc.

Berberis Vulgaris

pains in the arms, Pains in the shoulder, Cramps like pains, acute pains radiates to the hand and to the fingers – Aching, digging, violent pains in the back of the hand, with sensation of heaviness. Urticarial spot on the back of the hand. Small warts in the fleshy part of the hand, under the thumb. Sensation in the extremity of the finger, as if caused by subcutaneous ulceration. Flat wart on the finger. Redness of the hands, with itching.

Neuralgic pain under nails; tender to touch, paralysis in the knees while walking, Stitches between metatarsal bones, burning pains in the toes.

I (Dr Qaisar Ahmed) prefers combination of above mentioned medicines in highly diluted potencies.