Herbal Medicine and Arthritis

Arthritis is an inflammatory condition of the joints, which is generally characterised by swelling, warmth, redness, pain and restriction of movement. There are over 200 diseases which can cause arthritis, of which Rheumatoid arthritis, Osteoarthritis and Gout are the most well known.

Conventional treatment depends on the cause, often involving medication such as aspirin, an analgesic which relieves pain and inflammation by blocking the action of prostaglandins. There are many side effects associated with aspirin such as indigestion, breathlessness, and in prolonged use, bleeding in the stomach, and stomach ulcers.

Does this pharmaceutical approach get to the root of the problem or or does it just address the symptoms?

Herbal Medicine offers a more complex as well as holistic solution.

A Medical Herbalist will spend an hour with a person, by way of a consultation. They will look at the whole person, at the function of each body system e.g. digestion, elimination, the immune system (which may trigger the reaction), the lymphatic system (which helps to cleanse the body), the nervous system (the immune system is affected by stress) and circulatory system (efficient local circulation for tissue repair).

The Herbalist will then decide on and dispense a prescription made up of a number of herbs. Unlike pharmaceutical medicine, the herbs are perfectly and naturally designed. They act as catalysts for the body rather than imposing an action upon it, so that the body can rectify itself. Hippocrates said, over 2,000 years ago, that it is more important to know what sort of person has a disease, than what sort of disease a person has. So each person is treated differently. This is why a consultation is always beneficial, in order to get the most benefit from the herbs. In this case, and depending on the patient's constitution, the herbs might include Iris to stimulate elimination, Hawthorn to help the circulation and Meadowsweet to improve digestive tone and at the same time to reduce pain and inflammation. Meadowsweet contains salicylate, the constituent from which aspirin was originally derived, before it became 'synthesized' in the laboratory.

The Herbalist will often also offer dietary and lifestyle advice, and in the case of Arthritis, this might include ensuring sufficient 'anti-inflammatory' Essential Fatty Acids.