Arthritis - How Ayurveda Is Your Hope?

Arthritis is scary. The pain and disability caused due to it can affect our movement and stop us from living to the fullest. It is actually a blanket term for degenerative disorders of the joints in our body, in which these joints become inflamed and painful. If you have arthritis or someone you know has it, read on to discover how Ayurveda, India’s ancient healing science can help.

Ayurveda and arthritis
According to Ayurveda, arthritis is caused due to the aggravation of Vata dosha (air). Another approach is that arthritis is also caused by the deposition of ama, i.e. toxin that is released as a byproduct of improper digestion, at specific sites in the body like the joints, that have already weakened. Modern medicine manages the disease using medicines like anti-inflammatory steroids, pain medicines and the like, to stop progression and increase the range of movement in affected joints. Joint replacement surgery is the last resort for doctors. In short, modern medicine is unable to cure arthritis. But, Ayurveda offers a number of natural remedies for curing the underlying cause of the condition and lubricate affected joints to improve range of motion.

Ayurvedic treatment
Since arthritis is caused due to Vata imbalance, Ayurveda aims to balance and stabilise Vata in your body. This is done by strengthening your GI tract and the metabolic pathway. This ensures that the circulatory channels are not blocked by ama and can deliver nourishment to arthritic joints. The ancient system of Ayurveda prescribes certain natural remedies for increasing movement of joints, such as 

1. A proper diet is used to strengthen your digestive system so that less ama is formed.
2. A healthy, balanced diet also improves lubrication of joints, effectively preventing degeneration of the joints.

You should thus ensure the following 

1. Start your day drinking a large glass of lukewarm water with lemon juice in it for cutting down of impurities.
2. Fenugreek inhibits ama and is also an excellent corrector of Vata dosha aggravation. This makes it an excellent natural remedy for arthritis. Hence, always use fenugreek seeds in your food.
3. You can make a very useful arthritis curing paste by grinding fenugreek seeds and mixing them with mustard oil. This paste, when applied on your joints, will bring great warmth and strength to them.
4. Ayurveda prescribes hot oil massage for reducing inflammation and pain. The oils of choice are castor and sesame seed oils.
5. Since stress and anxiety are two big reasons for the development of ama in your body, de-stress using meditation and pranayama or yogic breathing exercises to improve your joint health.
6. Stick to a regular schedule as an irregular sleep cycle can aggravate all the doshas. Proper sleep will also help bring down obesity which will help by reducing pressure on load-bearing joints.
7. Fast at least once a week as fasting is very beneficial for digesting the ama.
8. Guggul is a very helpful herb for curing arthritis. It can be taken in a 3 gm dose twice a day after meals with warm water.

In case you have a concern or query you can always consult an expert & get answers to your questions!