Case Study: Successful Homeopathic Treatment of Avascular Necrosis

What is Avascular Necrosis

Avascular necrosis (AVN) is a severe condition characterized by the death of bone tissue due to a lack of blood supply. Whenever the blood supply to a tissue is obstructed, it leads to tissue death, also called necrosis. In AVN the blood supply to bone is obliterated leading to bone death or osteonecrosis. The commonly affected bone is the end of long bone usually the femur. Common symptoms are pain swelling and difficulty in walking. Diagnosis is done by X-ray imaging or MRI. This case study highlights the remarkable recovery of a young male patient with AVN through homeopathic treatment for Avascular Necrosis at HomoeoCARE.

Common Symptoms of Avascular Necrosis (AVN)

1. Pain: Persistent pain in the affected joint, often worsening with movement or weight-bearing activities.
2. Swelling: Inflammation and swelling around the joint.
3. Difficulty in Walking: Limited mobility and difficulty walking due to pain and joint dysfunction.

Causes of Avascular Necrosis (AVN)

1. Injury: Fractures or dislocations can disrupt blood flow to bones.
2. Steroid Use: Long-term use of corticosteroids can harm blood supply.
3. Alcohol Abuse: Heavy drinking can lead to fat buildup in blood vessels.
4. Health Conditions: Diseases like lupus, sickle cell, and Gaucher’s can affect bone health.
5. Radiation Therapy: Cancer treatments can damage blood vessels.
6. Decompression Sickness: Common in divers, it can cause bubbles to block blood flow.
7. Obesity: Extra weight puts stress on joints, increasing risk.
8. Medications: Some drugs, like certain chemotherapy agents, can impact bone health.
9. Genetics: A family history of bone issues may heighten susceptibility.
10. Blood Disorders: Conditions affecting circulation can lead to AVN.

Stages of Avascular Necrosis (AVN)

Stage I: Mild pain and stiffness in the affected joint.

Stage II: Severe pain and limited mobility in the affected joint.

Stage III: Characterized by the collapse of the femoral head.

Homoeopathic Approach in Cases of Avascular Necrosis

Homoeopathic medicines are prescribed after detailed case-taking and individualizing the treatment for each person. These medicines work to restore blood supply to the affected bone, improve the bone healing process, and stop further damage.

Other Homoeopathic Medicines for Bone Necrosis:

Along with considering the characteristic symptoms of the patient and the totality of symptoms based on the sphere of the disease and its modalities, some of the homoeopathic medicines that can be prescribed include:

AVN Femur:

1. Silicea and Strontium Carb: For pains aggravated by cold air.
2. Fluoric Acid: For pains aggravated by heat.

AVN Tibia:

1. Asafetida: For pains that worsen at night and when the patient is oversensitive to bone pains. It favorably influences caries of the bones and deep ulceration. Pains are alleviated by touch.
2. Phosphorus: For pain that worsens with touch, noise, or any kind of sound, accompanied by a burning sensation in the affected part.

AVN Jaw: Marked action upon the jaw, including bone necrosis and necrosis with sinus formation after a mastoid operation

Case of a 23-year-old male

A 23-year-old male presented with severe pain in the back radiating to the hips and then to both knees. This pain persisted for six months. The pain was so debilitating that he had to limp while walking, and it worsened in cold weather. Two years prior, he had suffered from a fungal infection and was treated with steroidal medications. Although the skin infection appeared to resolve, the steroids suppressed the disease, causing it to manifest more deeply into the musculoskeletal system, leading to leg pain and finally AVN.

Investigations

After a thorough investigation, the patient was diagnosed with avascular necrosis of both the femoral heads. The MRI report confirmed the diagnosis, indicating Modified Ficat and Arlet stage II AVN on both sides, with the right hip being more affected than the left.

MRI Report

The initial MRI described significant damage:

1. Both femoral heads showed consistent signs of AVN, stage II.
2. The right side exhibited more damage compared to the left.

Homeopathic treatment for AVN

Given the severity of the condition and the patient's history of using a steroid for fungal infection, which likely suppressed the fungal infection and transferred the disease to a deeper level, a comprehensive homeopathic treatment plan was started at HomoeoCARE. The goal was to treat the root cause of the disease and promote natural healing in accordance with basic homeopathic principles.

Progress and Follow-Up MRI Report

After 1.5 years of homeopathic treatment for Avascular necrosis of the hip joint, the patient's condition improved significantly. The follow-up MRI showed:

1. Subarticular lucency with sclerosis in the right femoral head, indicating early changes in AVN, but the hip joint space was maintained.
2. The left hip joint and articular margins appeared normal.
3. Sacroiliac joints were normal.

This suggested that the extensive damage observed in the initial MRI had significantly reduced, with only slight damage remaining in the right femoral head.

Clinical Outcome of AVN

After starting the homeopathic treatment for AVN, the patient experienced remarkable improvement:

1. He no longer limped and now could walk and run easily.
2. He could sit down with folded legs comfortably, an activity which was difficult previously.
3. His pain diminished significantly, and he regained the normal function of his daily activities.

This case underscores a critical aspect of homeopathic philosophy: the suppression of diseases with local treatments, such as steroids, can push the illness deeper into the body, affecting more vital organs. In this case, the suppression of a skin disease with steroids led to AVN of the hip joints.

Hering’s Law of Cure

The patient's recovery signifies the importance the Hering's Law of Cure (natures law of cure) in homeopathic treatment. Hering's law states that true healing progresses

1. from within outward,
2. from more important organs to lesser important organs, and
3. from the above downwards i.e. head to feet.