RHEUMATISM
Rheumatism
is not a single disease. It pertains to a whole range of conditions. It
refers to an acute or chronic illness which is characterized by pain
and swelling of the muscles, ligaments and tendons, or the joints.
Rheumatism may also involve internal organs including:
- The
heart
- The
skin
- The
kidneys
- The
lungs
The
term "rheumatism" is still used in colloquial speech and historical
contexts, but is no longer frequently used in medical or technical
literature; there is no longer any recognized disorder simply called
"rheumatism."
This
disease is most common among people above 45 years of age.
Cause-
There
is no particular cause for rheumatism. Some of the risk factors are
given below-
1.Old
age
2.Hereditary
3.Hormonal
disorder
4.Infection
of teeth, tonsils and gallbladder etc.
Types-
Rheumatism
has been more specifically classified, based on location and
characteristics of symptoms, as:
- localized
rheumatism (e.g. bursitis)
- regional
rheumatism (e.g. temporo mandibular joint pain)
- generalized
rheumatism (e.g. fibromyalgia)
- psychogenic
rheumatism (e.g. muscle and joint pain expressed is inconsistent with
actual physiology and patient is thought to have psychological reasons
for the symptoms)
Rheumatic
Disorder/ Condition-
Those disorders which affect muscles, tendons, ligaments, bone and
joints are known as rheumatic disorders.
Common types are-
1.Rheumatoid arthritis
2.Osteo-arthritis
3.Gout
4.Ankylosing spondylitis
5.Tennis elbow
6.Frozen shoulder
7.Cervical spondylitis
8.Fibrositis
Symptoms of rheumatism-
The onset of the acute variety of rheumatism is characterized by fever,
intense soreness, and pain. In the acute muscular type, the area
becomes so sensitive that even the weight of bed clothing aggravates
the pain. It may settle into a chronic state under a wrong mode of
treatment. If the disease is not treated properly in the acute stage,
it may become chronic. The symptoms of chronic muscular rheumatism are
pain and stiffness of the affected muscles. In the case of chronic
articular rheumatism (pain in the joints), pain and stiffness are felt
in one or more joints of the body, with swelling in most cases.
Diagnosis-
1.Complete blood picture
2.X-ray of affected joint
Treatment-
A vast number of traditional herbal remedies were recommended for
"rheumatism". Modern medicine, both conventional and complementary,
recognizes that the different rheumatic disorders have different causes
(and several of them have multiple causes) and require different kinds
of treatment.
Role of homoeopathy
Homoeopathy plays an important role in cases of rheumatism.
Homoeopathic medicines have been proved effective in reducing the
intensity of symptoms. Along with this, proper exercise is advisable to
the patient. The medicine is selected on the basis of the constitution
of the patient and helps in curing the disease.
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