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Arthritis is a disease affecting the joints thought to be brought on mostly by injuries. The symptoms are swollen joints that become hot and painful making movement restricted causing lameness. The inflammatory process is centered on the joints often causing a rise in temperature, accelerated respirations and sweating. These symptoms can either subside or get worse to the extent that the swelling breaks releasing inflammatory exudates and synovia fluid. In the former instance some of the fluid is reabsorbed but the body is unable to complete the job properly leaving the excess around the joint making it stiff and painful with a potential to become a chronic condition causing cartilage degeneration.
Herbal medicine addresses this by treating the excretory functions of the body. The herbs used aid the removal of metabolic waste via the movement of blood around the body which is then cleansed by the liver and excreted from the body. In order to do this, other herbs are used to aid the circulatory system by strengthening the pumping action of the heart to enable a strong blood flow around the body whilst other herbs address digestive, urinary, hepatic and lymphatic function. Also included are herbs that address the inflammation and associated pain.
Given that injury is a precursor of arthritis it makes sense to use preventative measures to aid the body in the complete removal of waste products at the time of injury giving the body a fair chance of complete recovery rather than leaving residues that can cause chronic conditions later in life.
Preventative treatment would involve a 6-8 week treatment plan.
In some cases if it is caught early enough, arthritis can be cured by a natural diet and herbal medication, but in acute cases it allays the process of further degeneration, and enables the horse to be more mobile and free from pain.
(Originally posted on Tas Horse, 12/2/08)
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