Homeopathy for Back Pain, Lumbago and Muscular Rheumatism

Muscular rheumatism affects the voluntary muscles. It may attack any of them, but is more apt to attack certain sets rather than others. The muscles most frequently affected are those of the back, neck, and chest.

• Muscular rheumatism is generally unaccompanied by fever, swelling, redness, or heat.

• It commences usually as an acute disease, but is very liable to pass into the chronic form; the attacks are frequently sudden; they may come from a sudden wrench, or the patient may wake from sleep and find herself incapable of rising or turning in bed, or turning her neck around without spasms of acute suffering.

• In the less severe form the patient is comparatively comfortable when quiescent, but any attempt to move the affected muscles causes severe pain.

• Sometimes there is some soreness and tenderness on pressure, but on examination no external marks of inflammation are observed.

• There is little or no constitutional disturbance at first, but if the pain continues long, and is severe, there is usually some thirst, loss of appetite, and debility.

• The duration of the disease is from three days to a week, but frequently after the acute symptoms have subsided, there is for an indefinite period more or less sensitiveness of the muscles.

The principle varieties of muscular rheumatism are, lumbago, torticollis, and pleurodynia.

About Lumbago:
Lumbago involes pain in the small of the back making walking very difficult; drawing pain in the loins, making motion almost impossible; the patient is unable to turn himself in bed; severe pain in back much increased by rising, turning, or moving the legs; great soreness and tenderness in the lumbar region. Lumbago affects the muscles on each side of the spine in the lumbar region. This variety is the most severe and painful of all, often causing most excruciating suffering, and entire helplessness; acute pain being caused by the slightest effort to move.

Causation:  Age largely determines the development of muscular rheumatism, it being much more common in middle and advanced life than in youth. The most frequent exciting causes are sudden muscular effort, over use of the muscles, and partial exposure to cold and damp, such as allowing a current of damp cold air to strike some portion of the body while the remainder is protected. Lying on the floor or damp ground is apt to induce the disease in susceptible individuals. One attack is very liable to be followed by others.

Diagnosis: Lumbago may be mistaken for urinary or kidney disease, but a careful examination of the urine will determine the diagnosis.

Treatment - Persons who have once suffered from an attack of muscular rheumatism should be careful to avoid exposure to cold and damp, and to drafts of air from windows and doors. Flannel should be habitually worn next to the skin.

Homeopathic Remedies for Lumbago are- Bryonia, Berberis, Lycopodium

Bryonia is especially indicated in lumbago. The symptoms requiring Bryonia are pains in the chest, tearing stitches in the left side of the chest which extend from behind forward, relieved during rest and aggravated during motion and deep inspiration; sharp sticking pain below right nipple, extending outward in the thorax; short but violent stitches in the right side of chest, rendering breathing very painful; sharp pain in the left infra mammary region, worse during inspiration; pain in the scapular region; rheumatic pain in the back under the scapula; violent stitches under right scapula.

Lycopodium - is indicated in lumbago after Bryonia, if the latter fails to relieve. It is more useful in the chronic form and for patients of advanced years.

Berberis - Rheumatic pain in right shoulder; sticking pain in the lumbar region confined to a small spot; intensive pain in the region of the kidneys, and across the small of the back; violent, burning, sudden stitches across the loins; pain in the small of the back as if it were crushed and bruised.

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