Effect of panchakarma and Ayurvedic treatment in postpartum rheumatoid arthritis (amavata): A case study

Dream of a mother is to get involved actively in upbringing of child, which is impeded if she is suffering from painful condition like rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in postpartum phase. It causes physical incapacity and psychological trauma as well. Present case is a patient who developed RA one month after full term delivery by caesarean section. In view of symptoms, she was diagnosed as case of amavata. She received Ayurvedic treatment - Simhanada guggulu, Pratapalankeshwara rasa, Dashamoola katutraya kashaya and combination of Swarnabhupati rasa, Tapyadi loha, Mahavatavidhvansa, Chopachini (Smilax china), Shunthi (Zinziber officinale) and Guduchi (Tinospora cordifolia) for four months and course of kala basti (medicated enema) along with application of medicated oil (Vishagharbha taila abhyanga) and sudation (bashpa sweda) for ten days. Complete remission was seen after treatment for four months. The patient was free from oral analgesics. RA test titer that was 160 international units per milliliter (IU/ml) before treatment showed marked reduction (28.12 IU/ml) after 75 days of treatment and later dropped in normal range (6.1 IU/ml). Normal milestones were seen in the child receiving breast feeding. Application of Ayurvedic principles showed excellent results in this case where modern medical management options were limited due to lactation.