Medical Herbalism: Clinical Articles and Case Studies |
Musculoskeletal - Arthritis
by Paul Bergner Medical Herbalist
Medical Herbalism 1(1):8,11
Modern
medicine has not identified a cause or a cure for arthritis. Modern treatments
include symptomatic treatment of pain and inflammation, intervention with
strong toxic drugs to alter the course of the disease, and surgical treatment
of joint damage. Arthritis is truly a dreaded diagnosis in our culture,
indicating a life of pain, progressive crippling, drugs and surgery. Other
medical systems are not so pessimistic about the treatment of arthritis.
Naturopathic, Homeopathic, Chinese, ayurvedic, Arabic (Unani) and various
traditional medical systems all have treatments if not cures for arthritis.
Likewise the Greeks, Romans, and the outstanding physicians and traditional
healers of Europe all had treatments for arthritis. Most interesting is
that many of these have had precisely the same understanding of the cause
and treatment of arthritis. Although modern conventional medicine claims
a monopoly on “scientific medicine” it has to be acknowledged that identical
clinical observations and conclusions made in widely different geographical
locations, cultures and times also have some scientific basis. Arthritis
is caused, in the words of the greek Physician Hippocrates, by “too much
food.” Naturopathic physicians attribute it to a buildup of toxins in the
body. Ayurvedic doctors say the same, but call these toxins “ama.” The
word “rheumatism” itself comes from an old word for mucus; it was thought
that rheumatism was caused deranged mucus secretions in the body. Chinese
medicine also calls arthritis a disease of excess. Sixteenth century physician
Paracelsus classified arthritis along with gout, sciatica, migraine headache,
gall stones and kidney stones as “tartaric diseases”," named after sediment
that falls out of wine. He held that excess wastes in the body settled
into various tissues, causing these diseases. The general progression of
such diseases is this: first either too much food or an improper diet leads
to impaired digestion; the undigested or partially digested materials eventually
are too much of a burden for the eliminative organs; the body then begins
to deposit the material in the various tissues of the body. This may cause
disease directly, or the body may then react to the compromised tissues
causing inflammation. If the target tissue is a joint, we call the result
arthritis. The “sediment” might also attack the nervous system or other
soft tissues, causing allergic reactions, migraine headache, or other diseases.
The above pathology immediately suggests a treatment to get at the cause
of the inflammation: strengthen the organs of elimination and digestion
and balance the nutrition. This is in fact the treatment approach used
by most physicians in the medical disciplines named above. Nutrition and
revitalization is more important during the remission stage of the disease,
and elimination more important during exacerbation. Traditionally, other
medical systems have employed fasting, the use of purgatives and diuretics,
and the induction of vomiting or sweating for eliminative treatments. It
becomes immediately apparent why modern Western medicine does not know
how to treat arthritis. Western medicine is preoccupied with fighting germs
or suppressing bodily reactions to disease; the correct treatment for arthritis
requires tonifying and building up whole body systems, something which
modern medicine does not know how to do. Other medical systems, including
medical herbalism, excel in such treatments. Treatment also requires some
knowledge of the use of food as medicine; most MD’s in the U.S. have never
had a even a single course in therapeutic nutrition. Herbs are used in
the treatment of arthritis in two ways: to treat chronic pain, and to treat
the cause of arthritis. I will discuss treatments for the cause, and present
a case where herbal treatment for pain is used. It is difficult to give
scientific evidence of the efficacy of herbal use in this condition because
of the constantly remitting character of the disease. An improvement that
appears to be due to a particular treatment may only be due to natural
fluctuation of the disease. Furthermore, scientific tests are usually concerned
with single controllable agents rather than complicated protocols; as will
be evident below, the herbal treatment of arthritis is not so simple or
controllable. Clinicians throughout the ages have used botanical medicines
successfully, however, according to the following rules.
Copyright
2001 Paul Bergner 253
|
Medical Herbalism: Clinical Articles and Case Studies |
Rules for using herbs:
1. Don’t expect miracle cures. Arthritis is a deep rooted disorder, having components in the emotional and mental bodies. What provides a dramatic cure for one patient may be ineffective for another.
2. Don’t rely on herbs alone. There is no magic bullet for arthritis. The diet and lifestyle must be modified for the condition to change. Moreover the patient may require other natural therapies such as hydrotherapy, homeopathy, or emotional work. Arthritis patients should be working with a physician who employs natural methods.
3. Expect to use treatments for a long time. Expect initial results only after a month to six weeks, and don’t expect more permanent results without much longer treatment.
4. Don’t rely on the power of the herb, but use herbs to gently strengthen the body’s own eliminative and blood building system. See the discussion of alterative herbs below.
5. Don’t heavily purge a weak patient. This follows from the above. An arthritis patient’s eliminative organs are already weakened. Strong stimulation of them may cause injury, and can potentially drive the disease deeper into the system.
6. Change herb formulas periodically, and take regular breaks from treatment. Individual herbs may slowly lose their effect as the body becomes accustomed to their regular use.
7. Pay attention to the quality of herbal medicines. Get good quality from reputable company. Plant material or preparation should usually have the distinct fragrance, taste and color of the original plant. Some clinical trials of anti-arthritic herbs have failed because inferior products were used.
The
chief herbs used in the treatment of arthritis are Alteratives, Mild Diuretics,
Laxatives, and Nutritive herbs. Alteratives are tonic herbs which act through
various mechanisms to restore a normal balance to the system. They usually
tonify the eliminative organs which in turn purify the blood and lymph.
Alteratives also act directly on the cell level to restore balance. Three
excellent alteratives for long term use in arthritis are Dandelion (Taraxacum
off.) Nettle (Urtica dioica) and Burdock (Arctium lappa).
Dandelion also has diuretic properties while providing generous amounts
of potassium. Nettle is also diuretic, and increases the excretion of uric
acid. Nettle is also highly nutritive. Alteratives should be taken for
at least six weeks. Mild diuretics are used mainly to encourage flushing
of the whole system. Note that increasing the fluid intake will have the
same effect. Juniper (Juniperus communis) is especially good for
use in arthritis as it also has bitter principles which tonify the digestive
system. Juniper should not be used with any kind of kidney disease or during
pregnancy. It should not be used for more than 6 weeks. Laxatives should
be used conservatively. Note that increasing the fiber in the diet will
have the same effect as using a mild laxative. Cascara (Rhamnus purshiana)
and Buckthorn (Rhamnus frangula) might be used if there is chronic
constipation during exacerbation of arthritis. These act without causing
laxative dependence. Nutritive herbs are crucial to the herbal treatment
of arthritis. The theme of natural treatment for arthritis should be to
“nourish, build and tonify”, rather than to “purge, punish and purify.”
Nettle (Urtica dioica) is highly indicated for arthritis, because
it shares nutritive, alterative, and diuretic qualities. Another excellent
nutritive herb with mild diuretic properties is Alfalfa. Two possible arthritis
formulas might be as follows: equal parts of an alterative herb, a mild
diuretic, a laxative, and a carminative (a heating herb, such as ginger
or fennel, to balance the effects of the laxative); equal parts of an anti-inflammatory
herb and an alterative herb. This is sufficient if the patients has eating
and drinking habits that encourage good elimination.
Copyright
2001 Paul Bergner 254
|
Medical Herbalism: Clinical Articles and Case Studies |
Copyright
2001 Paul Bergner 255
|