Case-3: 35 year old female reported of acute pain in the cervical (neck) region. The pain had started suddenly and had remained steady since then. It begun after she had lifted some heavy weight

35 year old female reported to the clinic for complaints of acute pain in the cervical (neck) region since 2 weeks. The pain had began suddenly about 2 weeks back and had remained steady since then. There was no radiation of the pain and no history of any weakness in the arms or any tingling or numbness. Her complain had started after she had lifted some heavy weight. Turning the head to left side worsened her pain. The X-ray of her neck (cervical spine) showed changes suggestive of Cervical Spondylitis. She had been put on painkillers but these gave her only temporary relief from the pain and she was developing severe acidity as a side-effect of the painkillers.

There were complaints of generalized bodyache as well and dull aching pain in the shoulders. She would occasionally develop cramps in the legs.

Her appetite was normal with liking for fruits and spicy foods. She was not fond of sweets in particular. There was thirst for large quantities of water. Her bowel and bladder functions were normal. She was sensitive to cold in general and was more comfortable in warm climate. She had 2 children (9 year old daughter and 5 year old son) and both were normal full-term deliveries. Her menses were regular and she had no complaints about the same.

She was a housewife and stayed with her husband and 2 children. There was no particular stress except that the Cervical Spondylitis was causing her a lot of anxiety. She was a soft-spoken lady who came across as a confident woman.

There was no history of any particular disease that she had suffered from in the past. Her father had suffered from a stroke and was hypertensive. Apart from this there was no history of any major disease in the family.

Based on the above history, she was prescribed Rhus toxicodendron 200 for her Cervical Spondylitis. Within a month of treatment, her pain was almost 75% better than before. Her treatment was continued further for another 6 months and by the end of this period, she was pain free most of the times and her Cervical Spondylitis had subsided significantly. Thereafter her treatment was concluded and she was asked to report back to us in case she had any difficulty any time in future.