Ruta graveolens
Rue, herb-of-grace. · Plant · Rutaceae
People who respond best to the Ruta remedy are prone to feelings of anxiety and panic and tend to be weepy. They may be quarrelsome and suspicious, often feeling that they are being constantly deceived or watched.
The classic symptom picture for Ruta is of connective tissue problems with marked stiffness and pain in the muscles and tendons, often due to sprains, overuse of the muscles, or injury. The pain is typically sore, bruised, aching, and accompanied by restlessness. Repetitive strain injuries, eye strain, ganglions, and chronic arthritis may be helped by Ruta, as may a stiff, sore lower back or sciatica.
Key symptoms
- Acts on periosteum, cartilages, eyes, and uterus
- Complaints from straining flexor tendons, especially wrist
- All parts of the body painful as if bruised
- Lameness and soreness after sprains
- Eye strain with redness, heat, and pain from reading or fine work
- Disturbances of accommodation; asthenopia
- Constant urging to urinate; bladder feels full
- Prolapsus ani; difficult stools with straining
- Feeling of intense lassitude, weakness, and despair
- Tendency to deposits in periosteum, tendons, and about joints
Worse (aggravation)
Better (amelioration)
Rue-bitterwort
Acts upon the periosteum and cartilages, eyes and uterus. Complaints from straining flexor tendons especially. Tendency to the formation of deposits in the periosteum, tendons, and about joints, especially wrist. Overstrain of ocular muscles. All parts of the body are painful, as if bruised. Sprains (after Arnica). Lameness after sprains. Jaundice. Feeling of intense lassitude, weakness and despair. Injured "bruised" bones.
Head
Pain as from a nail; after excessive intoxicating drinks. Periosteum sore. Epistaxis.
Eyes
Eyes-strain followed by headache. Eyes red, hot, and painful from sewing or reading fine print (Nat mur; Arg nit). Disturbances of accommodation. Weary pain while reading. Pressure deep in orbits. Tarsal cartilage feels bruised. Pressure over eyebrow. Asthenopia.
Stomach
Gastralgia of aching, gnawing character.
Urinary
Pressure in neck of bladder after urinating; painful closure (Apis). Constant urging to urinate, feels bladder full.
Rectum
Difficult feces, evacuated only with straining. Constipation, alternating with mucous, frothy stools; discharge of blood with stool. When sitting, tearing stitches in rectum. Carcinoma affecting lower bowel. Prolapsus ani every time the bowels move, after confinement. Frequent, unsuccessful urging to stool. Protrusion of rectum when stooping.
Respiratory
Cough with copious, thick, yellow expectoration; chest feels weak. Painful spot on sternum; short breath with tightness of chest.
Back
Pain in nape, back and loins. Backache better pressure and lying on back. Lumbago worse morning before rising.
Extremities
Spine and limbs feel bruised. Small of back and loins pain. Legs give out on rising from a chair, hips and thighs so weak (Phos; Con). Contraction of fingers. Pain and stiffness in wrists and hands. Ganglia (Benzoic ac). Sciatica; worse, lying down at night; pain from back down hips and thighs. Hamstrings feel shortened (Graph). Tendons sore. Aching pain in tendo-Achilles. Thighs pain when stretching the limbs. Pain in bones of feet and ankles. Great restlessness.
Modalities
Worse, lying down, from cold, wet weather.
Relationship
Compare: Ratanhia; Carduus. Rectal (irritation); Jaborandi; Phyt; Rhus; Sil; Arn.
Antidote: Camph.
Complementary: Calc phos.
Dose
First to sixth potency. Locally, the tincture for ganglia and as a lotion for the eyes.
Ruta is another remedy often overlooked. It is sometimes overlooked and Rhus or Argentum nitricum given, or other remedies not fully related to the case are given because Ruta is not well known.
Many of its symptoms are difficult to classify in the Repertory. A knowledge of its nature must be obtained. It falls under a class of complaints that resemble Rhus, in that it is sensitive to cold, aggravated from cold, damp weather; aggravated from becoming cold, and the complaints are often brought on from straining the part; overstraining or overexertion of parts, but principally confined to parts that are of a tendinous character aponeurotic fibres; white fibrous tissue; the flexor tendons especially flexor tendons that are overstrained by exertion.
Ruta graveolens. Rue. N. O. Rutaceæ. Tincture of whole fresh plant.
Clinical
Amblyopia. Anus, prolapse of. Bone, bruised; pains in. Bruises. Bursitis. Cartilages, bruises of; pains in. Chest, sternum, pains in. Constipation. Dislocations. Dyspepsia. Enuresis. Epistaxis. Exostosis. Eyes, sight weak; pains in. Facial, paralysis, from cold. Fevers. Fractures. Ganglion. Hæmorrhages. Hands, pains in. Paralysis. Perichondritis. Periostitis. Rectum, affections of; prolapse of. Restlessness. Rheumatism Sciatica. Spleen, affections of. Sprain. Stammering. Tongue, cramp in; swelling of. Urination, difficulty of. Varicocele. Veins, swollen; varicose. Warts.
Rue. (Rutaceae.)
Scrofulous exostosis; bruises and other mechanical injuries of bones and periosteum; sprains; periostits; erysipelas; fractures, and especially dislocations (Symph.). Bruised lame sensatoin all over, as after a fall or blow; worse in limbs and joints (Arn.). All parts of the body upon which he lies are painful, as if bruised (Bap., Pyr.). Restless, turns and changes position frequently when lying (Rhus). Lameness after sprains, especially of wrists and ankles (chronic sprains, Bov., Stron.). Phthisis after mechanical injuries to chest (Mill.). Aching in and over eyes, with blurred vision, as if they had been strained. After using eyes at fine work, watchmaking, engraving (Nat. m.); looking intently (Sen.). Amblyopia or asthenopia from over-exertion of eyes or anamolies of refraction; from over-use in bad light; fine sewing, over-reading at night; misty, dim vision, with complete obscuration at a distance. Eyes burn, ache, feel strained; hot, like balls of fire; spasms of lower lids. Constipation; from …
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Eyes burn, ache, feel strained and fatigued as after reading too long, from fine sewing, too much reading, or otherwise overtaxing them; worse using them in the evening.
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Bruised feeling all over, as from a fall or a blow, worse in limbs and joints.
Phatak's chapter on Ruta graveolens is available in the app.
Read Phatak in the appClassical texts are in the public domain. Educational reference only — not medical advice.
