Dr. Kranthi Kiran G

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative disease that affects the various bone and joints health, leading to painful movement and thereby limiting the patient's mobility.  Knees, hips, joints of hands and legs are affected.

Symptoms of OA

The symptoms revolve around the bones and joints including:

1. Pain and stiffness of the joints
2. Swelling of the joints
3. Inability to form a clench
4. Difficulty holding things 
5. Stooped posture 
6. Weakness of legs and hands
7. Reduced height over time

Treatment options in allopathy are limited to nonsteroidal analgesics to control pain and in severe cases, surgical correction, in case of OA.  However, homeopathy takes into account the triggering symptoms, the associated symptoms, and the status of the immune system before deciding on a treatment regimen.

With this holistic approach, homeopathy achieve the following:

1. Reduce the pain, swelling and stiffness
2. Slows the pace of further degeneration
3. Improves mobility of the affected joint(s)
4. Improves the body's overall immune system, thereby allow the body to promote healing on its own
5. Homeopathic intervention in the early phases is particularly helpful, as it will arrest disease progression
6. It also enable better absorption of minerals and nutrients essential for bone health. This allows healing of existing bone fractures and avoids further bone damage by strengthening the bones
7. Homeopathic treatment also enables the body's chemical state to withstand stress and illnesses better
8. It vitalizes the body's natural healing and ability to repair itself, to create a better state of health and well-being

Some of the popular homeopathic medications based on areas and associated symptoms are listed below:

Knee joints:

1. Bryonia Alba: Pain worsened with movement, relieved with rest; associated with swelling and stiffness of the joints; difficulty in climbing stairs.
2. Calcarea Carbonica:  Swelling and pain that is worsened when getting up from a seated position. The joints feel cold and painful.
3. Sulphur: Worse with climbing stairs, prolonged standing, feeling of warmth in the knees. 

Hip Joints:

1. Colcynthis: Cramping pain improved by pressure.
2. Rhus Toxicodendron: Pain when getting up from a seated position.
3. Pulsatilla Nigricans: Associated with muscle stiffness and cramping.

Finger joints:

1. Antimonium Crudum: The pain pain gets worse in cold weather, improved by applying something warm) 
2. Benzoic Acid: There is an associated crackling sound when the fingers are moved or if there are nodes in the area of joints. . The urine is highly offensive in these people. 
3. Calcara Fluorica:  There are stony hard nodes formed in the joint area, greatly reducing the mobility.

These medications are safe, completely natural, do not induce habit formation, and are approved by FDA.  They don't just treat the symptoms but help manage the patient as a whole.  This justifies why homeopathy is definitely a good option in treating osteoarthritis.