Case of Cervical Spondylitis

71 year old patient Mr. H., the Chairman of a multinational company, reported with Cervical Spondylitis. He had been on Physiotherapy and allopathic medicines in the last 2 months but found no relief.

He said that he had gone to inspect a cement factory that had been taken over by a French company and he developed sudden coughing there; all problems started since then. He developed sudden pain on the left side of the arm; doctors thought it could be cardiac pain and so all tests were done, which turned out to be negative.

He complained of pain extending from the cervical region to the scapula and then traveling down to the hand. The dull pain would be aggravated by movement and would get better by bending the head backward. Pain was better by hot water fomentation.

The patient also complained of pain in the left knee; he would have to support his knees.

Physical features:
He had a normal appetite with liking for sweets, ice-cream, non-vegetarian food. He loved salt and would add extra salt to his food. Urination and stools were normal and he would perspire normally. His sleep was sound and with no dreams in particular. He was sensitive to cold in general but also could not tolerate excess of heat.

The patient stayed with his family that comprised of his wife, daughter and son. He said that he was more close to his daughter than his son. He would not get along well with his son.

Since he would be busy all the time with his business and would think of money all the time, he had a very limited friend circle. Work had never been a cause of stress for him. He would not worry at all about work; he would keep on working 20 hours a day even at this age. He would get angry if something went wrong and would express his anger at such times. His hobbies included work, golf and traveling.

In the past, he had suffered from hernia- initially left-sided and late right sided too. His father had suffered from Hypertension and had expired at the age of 49 years. There was no other significant family history.

Findings on examination:
Weight: 87 kg
Warts, few hypopigmented patches on face
BP: 140/100 mm of Hg
Tongue coated white
Gums receding
Nose congested
Baggy swelling below both eyes more on the left side
Mild swelling in the cervical region
There was pain in the cervical region on turning to the left side
Bilateral pitting edema on the lower extremity

Based on the above history, he was give Lachesis 30 for his complaints. About 2 weeks later, he reported with an improvement in the pain in the cervical region and his treatment was continued further on similar lines. After another 3 months of treatment, he was completely free of the pain in the cervical region and he discontinued treatment thereafter. About 4 years later, he reported to us with recurrence of the pain. The same remedy was indicated this time again since the symptoms were same as before. He took treatment for about 2 months time and was completely free of the pain in this span of time. Patient is currently alright with no trouble at all.