Ayurveda is a science of life and longevity, which helps in the promotion of health, prevention of disease and in achieving a long life. Ayurveda states that any disease occurs due to imbalance of doshas. Joint pain is a common health problem faced by most of the people above forty years of age. It occurs due to the degeneration of cartilage and ligaments in the joints. This degeneration may occur due to various reasons such as arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis and deficiency of iron, calcium and vitamin. According to Ayurveda arthritis occurs due to imbalance of vata dosha. Ayurveda treatment focuses on the root cause of the disease by changing lifestyle, herbal combination, massage treatment, detoxification and yoga and meditation.
The rheumatoid arthritis is an acute and chronic condition as the body is filled with rheum or ama. It is a form of residual impurities deposited in the cells as a result of improper digestion. Rheumatoid arthritis is called ‘ama- vata’ in Sanskrit, which means that it occurs when vaata circulates ama in the body. While improper diet is the most important cause, other causes may be exhaustion, intense worry, frequent sex, intense stress and emotional disturbances. Improper fat metabolism in the digestive system creates a variety of ama.
Diet for joint pain
Food should be light, little and liquid. Weak ginger tea taken with lemon and honey is best when the tongue is thickly coated. You can take rice, gruel and green gram soup. Continue it for one week before going back to a normal diet. Avoid animal fats, fried foods, dairy products, refrigerated food, white sugars, alcohol, chillies, potatoes, tomatoes, peppers and tobacco. Reduce the use of salt. Of the oils castor oil alone can reduce the inflammation and scrape out the ama. A film of castor oil should be applied on the affected joints, and then dry heat should be applied. The intake of bitter and pungent substances controls vaata and relieves ama. Eating a balanced anti- allergic diet is appropriate.
Treatment for joint pain
Good ayurvedic oil for rheumatic condition are dhanwantara
Thailam, sahachaaradi thailam and vishagarbha thailam. All these oils are medicated to purify and lubricate the joints. Intermittent medicated enemas especially when the bowel habits change and the lower part is full of gas are important to keep the lining of the colon healthy and clear of ama. Various therapeutic massages like kati basti and kizhi massages are used in lubricating the joints. Panchakarma treatment is also used for joint pain treatment.
Herbal combinations for joint pain
Triphala guggulu, a compound preparation, is often useful in joint pain treatment. Triphala purifies the system and long pepper improves digestion while guggulu, a plant exudate, controls the inflammation in the body. There are some anti-inflammatory drugs used for joint pain. Recent studies prove that ginger reduces the inflammation in the body. Ginger is capable of preventing the production of prostaglandins which are responsible for inflammation. Licorice is the best herb for inflammatory diseases. The efficacy of licorice is due to glycyrrhinitic acid and its steroid nature. If 2gm of hing or asafoetida is dissolved in one teaspoon of coconut oil and applied as an analgesic balm, it gives immediate relief from inflammatory conditions. Turmeric also has anti –inflammatory activity, so take a pinch of turmeric every day to keep degenerating disease away. Garlic is a very good medicine for arthritis. It is anti -arthritic in nature. It can relieve the pain and strengthen the immune system.
Simple yoga postures and pranayama are good for arthritis patients. A regular exercise programme is very beneficial for overweight patients since heavy limbs put extra strain on muscles and joints. A balanced approach to yoga will help stabilize all doshas.