Rheumatic Disorders
“Rheumatism” is a
collective term for diseases that affect particularly the
joints
and ligaments of the limbs, the spinal column, tendons, connective tissue,
and
muscle, but also the internal organs. A typical example is acute rheumatic
fever, which can lead not only to polyarthritis, but also to heart or
kidney
disease.
Rheumatic
diseases are today categorized in the following groups:
•
Inflammatory rheumatism:
–
Acute rheumatoid arthritis (rheumatic
fever).
–
Chronic rheumatoid arthritis (articular
rheumatism).
–
Bechterew disease (ankylosing spondylitis).
•
Degenerative, non-inflammatory
rheumatism:
–
Arthrosis.
–
Spondylosis and osteochondrosis.
•
Soft tissue rheumatism:
–
This includes partly inflammatory, partly
degenerative processes that
affect not the joints but the muscles, connective tissue, synovial
bursa,
tendon
sheaths, and nerves.
Rheumatology
distinguishes between two different types of pain, namely
mechanical
pain and inflammatory pain.
Mechanical
pain generally appears during or after physical
exertion,
abates
during rest, and completely disappears overnight. If stiffness does occur
in
the morning, it is very short and lasts a few minutes at most.
In
contrast, inflammatory pain occurs also when the patient is resting.
Generally,
it flares up during the second half of the night and in some cases
becomes
so severe toward the morning that it awakens the patient. Inflammatory
pain
tends to be accompanied by ankylosis. This early-morning stiffness
is
persistent and painful, possibly lasting for more than half an hour. In
contrast,
ankylosis in conjunction with arthrosis generally lasts only a few
minutes.
Acute
Rheumatic Fever
Acute
rheumatoid arthritis refers to a hypersensitive reaction (allergy) to
pathogens,
most commonly streptococcus bacteria. This condition manifests
in
sudden fever of up to 40°C (104 °F) in conjunction with very painful redness
and
swelling in the joints; the large and medium-sized joints (joints of
the
knees, feet, shoulders, elbows, and hands) are particularly affected.
A
typical characteristic of this disease is that it wanders, from one joint to
another.
Also typical is profuse sweating. The sweat has a characteristic sour
odor.
Shortly
before the onset of acute rheumatoid arthritis, the patient often
suffers from tonsillitis or catarrh of the nose, throat, and
bronchial tubes.
This
disease most frequently affects
children and young adults, but especially
school
children.
Treatment
Because
of the severity of the disease and the danger of secondary developments,
especially
of rheumatic carditis, hospitalization is often necessary.
Inflammatory
Chronic Rheumatoid Arthritis
(Articular
Rheumatism)
Chronic
rheumatoid arthritis is also inflammatory, but not caused by pathogens.
The
cause is unknown. Because the chronic inflammation is self-perpetuating
and
hence does not heal, autoimmune processes have been suspected
as
formative. The disease can occur in all ages, but predominantly between
the
ages of 25 and 50, and affects
women at three times the rate as men.
Symptoms
•
As a rule, latent disease onset with joint
problems that are at first undefined,
such
as stiffness in
the finger and hand joints, especially in the morning
after
waking.
•
Later, pain and swelling develops in the
joints. The small joints on the
hands
and feet are involved first.
•
In more advanced stages of the disease, the
larger joints and parts of the
cervical
spinal column are also affected.
Sooner or later, deformities develop
in
the hands and feet.
•
Deterioration of general health, such as
fatigue, exhaustion, lack of appetite,
weight
loss, abnormal sweating and mild anemia, sometimes slightly
elevated body
temperature.
Degenerative
Rheumatoid Arthritis (Arthrosis)
Arthrosis
is not an inflammatory disorder, but a degenerative joint disease
that
affects primarily the joint cartilage. The
cause of arthrosis is a disproportion
between
the load and load-bearing capacity of the joint surfaces. In this
process,
the following factors play a role amongst others: congenital or injury-
related
malposition of the joints, congenital weakness of the cartilage
tissue,
previous joint inflammations, hormonal influences, excessive weight
or
strain. The disease is relatively widespread. It occurs mostly after the age
of
40 and is slightly more common in women than in men.
In
principle, it can affect any
joint, but is most common in the load-bearing
joints
such as the knee, hip, and foot joints, and the small joints of the
lumbar
spinal column, followed by the shoulder, elbow, and hand joints.
Symptoms
•
The first indications of arthrosis are stiffness
and a
feeling of tension after
longer
rest periods.
•
Pain in arthrosis is predominantly mechanical. Pain during
starting or
warm-up
that decreases with further movement is typical. Continuous
strain,
however, induces repeated pain.
•
As the clinical picture of arthrosis
progresses, bony enlargements may
form
in the joints, and you may here grinding or crackling noises. The motility
of
the joints is limited due to pain.
•
Continuous sparing of the joint increases
the danger of articular stiffness
due
to limited movement.
•
Furthermore, lack of movement leads to poor
circulation in the joint capsule
and
therefore to additional impaired nutrition in the already damaged
cartilage.
Treatment
of Rheumatic Disorders
Suggested
Therapy
The
treatment of rheumatic disorders with cupping pursues
two
goals:
•
Eliminating the inflammatory symptoms and
pain.
•
Influencingmetabolism, to slow down the
decline in degenerative diseases
and finally reach
stabilization.
By
stimulating circulation, cupping loosens the connective tissue, releases
tension,
and accelerates metabolism. It also relieves the manifestations of
inflammation,
and
therefore the pain. Even serious changes are accessible to
treatment,
in spite of the fact that improvement can often be reached only
very
slowly.
•
Treatment must be repeated for a longer
period of time in intervals of
initially
2–4 days, and afterwards of 8–14
days, until the goal is
reached.
•
Rubbing ointment on the treated skin areas
prior to cupping increases
the effect.
Supplemental
Therapy
•
Homeopathy. For the rheumatic class of disorders, homeopathy offers
good
options for treatment. Nevertheless, a successful homeopathic treatment
requires
patience from both the therapist and the patient. Remedies
must be selected
strictly according to individual symptoms.
Alternating
Therapy
•
Neural therapy. Quaddle therapy with local anesthetics above painful
joints.
•
Physical therapy. Depending on tolerance: heat or cold applications.
• Acupuncture. Causal therapy.
Suggested
Therapy
In
this case, success can be attained already after
the first treatment. If not,
repeat
treatment in intervals of 4 days, until complete absence of complaints
is
reached.
Supplemental
Therapy
•
Homeopathy. Acute lumbago should, with rare exceptions, offer the
chance
of a “miracle
treatment” for the
homeopathic therapist. In acute
cases,
the pain generally subsides quickly after taking organotropic homeopathic
remedies.
In chronic cases, success depends on the severity of
the
disease and on the degree of pre-existing spinal column deformations.
The
number of possible remedies is quite large.
• Neural therapy
Depending on the case, quaddle therapy
with local anesthetics.
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