PHYSIOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS
Physiological factors in the etiology of rheumatoid arthritis are certainly different from those which bring about the condition we know as osteoarthritis. Thus it would not be surprising to find such a differentiation taking shape in the Cayce readings on these two different conditions. The severity of the illness as is found in the atrophic arthritis, along with its poorer prognosis, would lead one to suspect that the abnormal physiology is of a much deeper origin with much more profound ramifications. If these various factors were not explored to some extent in regard to causation of arthritis in both instances, an understanding of the physiology involved and the therapeutic measures which would become necessary could hardly be obtained.At the same time, there are certain basic causative factors here which are common to both conditions, and this, also, might be anticipated.
A. Poor Eliminations
Poor elimination, and its associated and resultant condition, inadequate assimilation, seem to be a part of the picture in nearly every condition of arthritis no matter what type it may be. Apparently the other abnormal functions within the body contribute to the problem of improper elimination and direct the body down a course which brings either a mild or a very serious condition which must be met.
In those cases which Cayce described, it is very seldom a simple procedure, even when the individual is not seriously ill. For instance, (4199) was told that her problem originated from tautness of the muscles of the back and the nerves through the autonomic nervous system of the spine which in turn produced lack of elimination through the skin or through the liver and kidneys. This produced an autointoxication through substances which were picked up in the hepatic circulation, and this in turn created what is described as a "blood force" to the capillaries supplying the bursae and joint spaces of the lower extremities, and caused a contraction in the lymphatic system of these sacs, thus hampering the action of the limbs themselves. This was a cause of osteoarthritis.
Rheumatoid arthritis is often marked by the appearance of subcutaneous nodules. A 57-year-old man, (3363), who was experiencing rheumatoid arthritis as a "meeting of self", was told that the knots or cysts under the skin came about as a result of a "lack of proper distribution of energies that have been used in the body. Not wholly toxic conditions, but producing toxic conditions by their lack of proper elimination."(3363-1)This man, whose disease was obviously karmic in nature, was suffering from lack of proper eliminations throughout his body which brought about a crystallization of hormones in the circulation of the lymphatics. This created an incoordination between the lymph or superficial circulation and the deeper circulation. All the sympathetic nerves were under stress and strain so that in movements of the body, "these cry out for relief, as it were." There was a lack of proper assimilation as a part of the nerve disorder and disturbance.
B. Chemical Imbalance
Another case which was quite similar, (1972), came about through the lack of the activity of the liver as it is related to the gall bladder and its function, in producing "solvents" for assisting in the assimilation of foods for the body. These apparently produced an inflammatory reaction which was carried then to the centers of locomotion for the body, and thus created an inflammatory reaction in the extremities. Chemical imbalances in the body, lack of iodine in the blood stream - these are mentioned as etiologic factors.
One individual was told that there was a crystallization of most all forms of any foods that have certain potential elements or salts in them. This came about in the joints and tendons, thus creating the arthritic tendency or condition.
In a 53-year-old woman, whose arthritis had progressed to the point of ankylosis, there was an unbalanced condition which weakened the resistance in the lymphatics and the emunctory circulation through the extremities, especially in the bursae of the body. Cayce described the bursae as those "portions of the body where there are those areas where great lymph pockets are gathered in the regular functioning of the body" (5144-1). Dorland's Medical Dictionary describes them as being sacs filled with viscid fluid located in tissue where there would otherwise be friction. The joint spaces must also be included in Cayce's description, which is picturesque yet accurate.
Among those with atrophic arthritis, assimilation was proposed as a cause in relationship to a glandular malfunction in (5150). This brought about an infection, creating the arthritis. In another case, there was a lack of the glandular systems being able to reproduce themselves. And in still another, the activity of the glands was given as the faulty mechanism, and described as a karmic reaction. The glandular disturbance between the liver and the kidneys produced a suppression of elimination and an accumulation in the extremities which is described as an arthritic tendency, in still another case.
C.Poor Assimilation
Hindered nerve reflexes, depression of the ganglia coming about from poor assimilations and causing improper lymph function, and incoordination of the activity between the liver and the kidneys - all three of these were pointed out as elements in the etiology of arthritis.
From the various functions which are seen to be abnormal, one begins to piece together part of the etiologic mechanisms seen in these psychic readings.Disturbed elimination from any cause, certainly, seems to be the primary abnormality of function. When there are glandular disturbances, it seems more likely that a rheumatoid condition would result, since glandular activity is so closely related to overall organ balance and function; and in the Cayce readings the glands are seen as the mediator of that balancing force which we know as karma. Improper assimilation often comes about before or after the eliminations are disturbed, and the nerve function from the ganglia of the autonomic nervous system is involved in the abnormal physiology.[/
The readings would likely imply that the development of arthritis is an attempt on the part of the ligaments and the joints themselves to meet the needs of the system which is being poisoned. With the drosses present in the bloodstream, the lymphatics and the lymphocytes with all their resources are unable in conjunction with the hormones, to bring about a full (what Cayce calls) coagulation, or a building up of tissue from energy -a reconstruction in a sense of the cells of the body. Thus, the type of arthritis is determined to a great extent by the derangement of function prior to the onset of improper eliminations. It is probably more closely associated with the hormonal disturbance in rheumatoid arthritis, whereas in osteoarthritis the body is better balanced in all of its activities and not subject to such a derangement as comes about in the atrophic manifestation of the disease.
