Enthesitis SpondyloArthritis Homeopathic Treatment

Enthesitis and enthesopathy can be caused by injury from trauma (such as from athletic activity like running, jumping, sprinting, or turf toe), gout, psoriatic arthritis, Achilles tendinitis, reactive arthritis, de Quervain's tenosynovitis, ankylosing spondylitis (spondyloarthropathy), respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection, diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH), and rheumatoid arthritis.

Common spots for enthesitis to happen are around your heel, knee, hip, toe, elbow, backbone, and the bottom of your foot. The inflammation can lead to pain and stiffness, especially when you're moving. 

• Pain
• Stiffness
• Swelling
• Tenderness
• Warmth

You also might notice swelling around those areas.

Soreness at the back of your heel caused by enthesitis is sometimes called Achilles tendinitis or plantar fasciitis pain at the bottom of your foot. This pain can make it hard for you to run or climb stairs.

Over time, enthesitis can lead to:

Calcification or ossification: Inflammation of the entheses can cause new bone tissue to form. That new bone tissue gets in the way of normal movement and function -- like a bone spur on your heel.

Fibrosis: Tissues in the affected area become ropey.

Types of Enthesopathies

There are many. Some of the most common are:

• Ankylosing spondylitis
• Plantar fasciitis
• Achilles tendinitis
• Rotator cuff syndrome of shoulder and allied disorders
• Enthesopathy of elbow region
• Enthesopathy of wrist and carpus
• Bursitis of hand or wrist
• Enthesopathy of hip region
• Bursitis of hip
• Enthesopathy of knee
• Enthesopathy of ankle, tarsus, and calcaneus

Enthesitis is hard to diagnose. The doctor will give you a physical exam, check for swelling, and to see if the area hurts when compressed. They’ll ask if the pain gets better after you exercise. You might get lab tests that look for signs of inflammation and imaging tests so your doctor can get a good view of your joints.

There are no standard lab tests to detect enthesitis. Your doctor may use medical imaging, such as ultrasound, to help determine if you have the condition, but your medical history and symptoms alone provide enough information in most cases. For example, if you have pain in back of the heel just above the sole of the foot, swollen joints and finger- and toenail pitting, “then that’s enthesitis,”

Blood Tests 

HLA-B27 antigen test

C-reactive protein (CRP)

Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR)

Complete blood count (CBC)

X-ray & MRI

Though this type of diseases response to NSAID but this cannot produce any permanent healing effect ; neither improving the quality of life & these also has its own adverse effects on excessive consumption.

Homeopathic medicines on other hand improve the ‘Quality of Life’ in patients along with reducing pain and disability .Since there is no effective allopathic treatment, why not try homeopathy? The homeopathic treatment of Enthesitis is a unique opportunity for homeopaths. I would like to share my experiences using homeopathy in the treatment of this disorder.Homeopathy treats the person as a whole on wholistic concept. It means that homeopathic treatment focuses on the patient as a person, as well as his pathological condition based on symptoms.Symptoms are sign of internal turbulance or loss of equilibrium. The homeopathic medicines are selected after a full individualizing examination and case-analysis, which includes the medical history of the patient, physical and mental constitution, family history, presenting symptoms, underlying pathology, possible causative factors etc.  A homeopathy doctor tries to treat more than just the presenting symptoms. The focus is usually on what caused the disease condition especially. Why this patient is sick in this way while others not in same house or condition. The disease diagnosis is important but in homeopathy, the cause of disease is not just probed to the level of bacteria and viruses. Other factors like mental, emotional and physical stress that could predispose a person to illness are also looked for. No a days, even modern medicine also considers a large number of diseases as psychosomatic. The correct homeopathy remedy tries to correct this disease predisposition. The focus is not on curing the disease but to cure the person who is sick, to restore the health. If a disease pathology is not very advanced, homeopathy remedies do give a hope for cure but even in incurable cases, the quality of life can be greatly improved with homeopathic medicines.

Arnica- One of the best homeopathic medicines Pain worse during movement with sore bruised feeling.

This is the first remedy we think of for trauma and ailments from overexertion.  It reduces swelling and bruising, and takes away a great deal of the pain.  The patient who needs arnica feels the pain severely—and is so sensitive and frightened of increasing the pain they will pull away from any possibility of the affected part being touched.  Letting the limbs hang down ameliorates the pain, while movement aggravates it.  The patient will feel a tearing pain at the maleolus and ankle.  The ankle will feel lame and weak, with lots of purple discolouration.

Ruta graveolens: We think of this remedy if tendons or ligaments are overworked or strained, causing an inflammatory process.  Ruta’s sphere of action focuses on  cartilagenous tissue. There is stiffness, lameness, and paralysis in the case which needs Ruta, and the joint pain may be described as though the affected area has been smashed.  Patients also experience a pulsation around the injured joint.

Bryonia- One of the best homeopathy medicines Stitching pain of Enthesitis motion aggravate all problems. 

Painful stiffness in nape of neck. Stiches and tearing; worse on least movement. Knees stiff and painful. Every spot is painful on pressure .

Look for stitching or aching pains, with stitching pains felt at the outer lateral malleolus moving to the fibula.  If the sensation is sore, or bruised, think of Bryonia.  The slightest motion or pressure can aggravate the pain, but even activities such as stepping, walking, or sitting can aggravate the condition.

Rhus Tox- One of the best homeopathic remedies Rainy season aggravte Enthesitis with amelioration from warmth and motion

Pains tearing tendons ligament and fascia .Soreness of condyles of bone . Better by continuous motion. Numbness and formication from overwork .Tenderness of knee joint loss of power in forearm and fingers. We find signs of an inflammatory process to alert us to the need for this remedy, causing the ankle to be itchy, with pain in tonic spasms.  Lameness, weakness of the joint, and swelling (especially after a period of sitting) may add to the stiffness that is frequently described.  Painful ulcers and reddish discolouration are also typical signs of this remedy.Rhus toxicodendron: We find signs of an inflammatory process to alert us to the need for this remedy, causing the ankle to be itchy, with pain in tonic spasms.  Lameness, weakness of the joint, and swelling (especially after a period of sitting) may add to the stiffness that is frequently described.  Painful ulcers and reddish discolouration are also typical signs of this remedy.

Sulphur is one of the top Homoeopathic medicines for Enthesitis Varices at the ankles

Herpes in the area of the ankle, itching of the right ankle in the evening. Moving the joint or walking may produce cracking within the joint and it may feel weak during the night. Walking aggravates the weakness of the ankle. The lower limbs feel tired and heavy. Stiffness of the ankle improves with exercise. During the night, the patient experiences a sensation of numbness or insensibility. Varices at the ankles are a rare symptom, but one that is particular to Sulphur.

RUTA GRAVEOLENS for Enthesitis due to Tendon Strain

We think of this remedy if tendons or ligaments are overworked or strained, causing an inflammatory process.  Ruta’s sphere of action focuses on  cartilagenous tissue. There is stiffness, lameness, and paralysis in the case which needs Ruta, and the joint pain may be described as though the affected area has been smashed.  Patients also experience a pulsation around the injured joint.