Sandivatha (Arthritis)
Ayurveda Findings:
Ailments of joints are called Sandivatha. They are varied. Different joints attract different variety of Vatha ailments. Rheumatism is centered on knees, ankles, elbows and shoulders. Rheumatoid diseases and osteoarthritis are centered on small joints of the hands while ankylosing spondylitis is generally attracted by spinal joints. Great toe’s favourite ailment is gout. Hip joint and vertebral column are liked by tuberculosis while peni-arthritis and osteoarthritis victims are shoulders.
Common causes for Sandhivatha are metabolic, infection, traumatic, collagen diseases, deficiency diseases and blood diseases.
Metabolic : In medical term it is called Gout which suddenly appears in midnight, mostly in the great toe. It results in the deposition of biurates astophi on the joints of hands and feet, rarely on the auricles too. It is affected mainly males between the age group of 40 to 50 and those who used to sumptuous food habit.
Infections : It causes pyogenic arthritis, constituting sudden fever, selling, severe pains in the joints and curtailed movements.
Typhoid can be one of the reasons. In this spine is affected. Bacillary dysentery can be yet another reason. In such case the victim is knee.
Conjectivities and urethritis may affect ankle while pyaemia and sepsis may affect more joints.
Traumatic : It may cause due to acute blood diseases, acute infections, acute degenerations, acute neuropathies or acute collegen diseases.
Collegen Diseases : It is medically called Rheumatism. It appears in the form of pain in big joints. The pain will move from one joint to another and affected joints will have no pus formation. The recurrence of the disease may affect heart later.
Deficiency Diseases : It appears in the form of scury, mainly in knees. In acute case patechial hemorrhage in the skin is likely.
Blood Diseases : It appears as hemophilia and causes bleeding in the synovial membrane of the joints (mainly knee after any injury), tenderness, pain on movement and fluctuation often noticed.
Treatment administered generally is: Abhayanga, patra pinda sweda, choorna sweda, upanaha sweda, dhara, shastikasali panda sweda, snehapana etc. Oral medicines also administered.
