Rheumatic Arthritis is a common acute or chronic inflammatory connective tissue disease that can recur and involve the heart. Clinically, it is characterized by migratory soreness, heaviness, and pain in the joints and muscles, and is a type of allergic reaction disease, often starting with acute fever and joint pain. In Rheumatic Arthritis, acute inflammation usually subsides without leaving sequelae within 2 to 4 weeks, but recurrent joint disease is common. If rheumatic activity affects the heart, myocarditis may occur, and even valvular heart disease may be left behind. Rheumatic Arthritis falls under the category of "Bi Syndrome" in Traditional Chinese Medicine. The pathogenesis involves insufficient vital energy, with external factors such as wind, cold, dampness, and heat invading the body, obstructing the meridians, and hindering the smooth flow of qi and blood, leading to the development of this disease.
Wind Bi Syndrome Type: There is soreness and pain in the limbs and joints, migratory pain in the upper and lower limbs, more often seen in the upper limbs, mostly with cold pain, but also with slight heat pain, or there may be aversion to wind and cold; the tongue coating is thin and white or slightly greasy, and the pulse is mostly floating or floating and tight.
Pain Bi Syndrome Type: There is severe pain in the limbs and joints, to the extent that the joints may be immovable, with increased pain upon exposure to cold and relief with heat, with the pain usually fixed but can also be migratory, the skin color is not red, and it does not feel hot to the touch; the tongue coating is thin and white, and the pulse is taut and tight.
Dampness Bi Syndrome Type: There is a heavy and sour pain in the limbs and joints, possibly with swelling, with the pain localized, numbness of the skin, a feeling of heaviness in the hands and feet, and difficulty moving; the tongue coating is white and greasy, and the pulse is moist and slow.
Qi and Blood Deficiency Type: The limbs feel weak, the joints are heavy and sore, with a dull and persistent pain, numbness is particularly severe, there is spontaneous sweating and aversion to cold, occasional palpitations, poor appetite, the complexion is slightly pale with a hint of cyanosis, and the physique is frail; the tongue is pale red and lacks moisture, the coating is yellow or thin and white, and the pulse is often deep, deficient, and slow.
Heat Bi Syndrome Type: There is pain in the limbs and joints, with redness, burning heat, and severe swelling and pain at the site of pain, which eases with cold, muscle and tendon contraction, milder during the day and worse at night, often accompanied by fever, thirst, and restlessness; the tongue is red, the coating is yellow, greasy, and dry, and the pulse is slippery and rapid.
It is recommended to perform moxibustion once a day, targeting 2 to 3 acupoints each time, with each acupoint being treated for 30 to 40 minutes. Rotate the points treated, with a 10-day period constituting one course of treatment, and then rest for 2 to 3 days before continuing with the next course. (If time permits and there is a need, more acupoints can be treated with moxibustion. The specific duration should be adjusted according to one's own physical needs.)
1. Strengthen physical exercise to enhance physical fitness and improve the ability to resist external pathogens. 2. Respond to climate changes in time, add clothing, and avoid invasion by wind, cold, and dampness. 3. Dietary therapy recipe: Kidney-tonifying and Tendon-strengthening Wine. Atractylodes macrocephala, Eucommia ulmoides, and Curculigo each 15 grams, Buthus martensii, Gentiana macrophylla, Saposhnikovia divaricata, Curcuma aromatica, Angelica sinensis, Ligusticum chuanxiong, Lonicerae japonicae, Flos lonicerae, Ephedra sinica, Prunus mume each 9 grams, 3 centipedes, white spirit 250 milliliters, brown sugar 250 grams. Place the medicine and wine together in a pottery jar, seal the mouth with cloth, mud to seal tightly, simmer over a gentle fire for 2 hours, then bury in the ground or put in well water, remove the fire toxicity, filter the residue and take the liquid after 1 day and night for use. Take 35 milliliters after meals, three times a day, 10 days for one course of treatment.