FAULTY DIET AND BAD CLIMATE PLAYS HAVOC WITH JOINTS
AYURVEDIC CALL
ARTHRITIS CAN CAUSE SEVERE PAIN IN THE JOINTS AND CAN MAKE
IT DIFFICULT FOR YOU TO COMPLETE SIMPLE HOUSEHOLD CHORES
Do you get up with stiff joints in the morning and limp your
way through your daily routine. Are you sick and tired of
applying balms/ointments and popping pills to relieve the pain?
Well, you could probably be suffering from Arthritis.
Artritis literally means inflammation of joints. It is the
disorder that causes pain,stiffness and swelling in and/or
around the joints.According to Ayurvedic science there are
more than 100 types of arthritis known today.However, the
most common are the following two:
Rheumatoid Arthritis: It is an autoimmune disease in which cells
responsible for the body''s immunity attack the body''s cells.
This causes swelling in the membrane around joints resulting in
inflammed painful joints with stiffness and redness.
The joints sometimes get deformed due to severity of the disease.
It is more common in women than in men.
Osteoarthritis: This is another common form of arthritis, which is
also known as degenerative joint disease and mainly involves weight
bearing joints like the knees. The surface layer of cartilage( the
tissue that cushions the end of the bones at the joints) breaks and
wears away. This allows the bones to rub together, causing pain and
swelling.
Joint pain may occur due to one or more of the following reasons:
Inappropriate food which is not suitable for your body. Extreme
climatic conditions like consistent excessive cold or humidity.
Unusual exertion due to heavy physical work or exercise or total
lack of exercise.
Normal wear and tear of the joints with age.Recent serious illnessses.
Blood clots in any of the joint tissues. Inflammation in any of the
tissues of the joints. Degeneration of cartilage in the joints.
When the three Doshas, Vata, Pitta and Kapha are out of balance they
cause the disease.As per Ayurveda when food is not digested properly,
Aama(undigested matter) is formed.
Due to reasons like excessive walking, travelling, inadequate sleep
and exposure to cold and wind, Vata gets aggravated and travels upwards.
While travelling it takes Aama along with it. On reaching the joints,
Aama gets lodged there, thus restricting the joint movements and making
them painful. This is known as Aamvata or rheumatoid arthritis.
Osteoarthritis known as sandhivata in Ayurveda is caused due to
aggravated vata lodged in the joints.
Vata gets aggravated by excessive exposure to cold, wind, humidity,
walking, travelling and inadequate sleep.
The overuse of pulses also lto a Vata imbalance.
For Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA), the key is to improve digestion so as
to prevent formation of Aama, where as for OA (Osteoarthritis), Vata
need to be pacified.
Oil massage is highly beneficial and yields almost magical relief in
OA. whereas it worsens RA.
A simlpe differentiation would be that if the pain is more on walking
up in the morning and worsens with humidity, it is likely to be RA
(Rheumatoid Arthritis) .
Whereas if the pain worsens with exercise and walking and is prominent
during winters,it is OA (Osteoarthritis)
Tips on how to ease the pain:
Roast 50 harde in castor oil and put some rock salt over it. Take
one harde daily in the morning. Harde will work as an appetiser and
help to digest the Aama. The digest should consists of bitter gourd,
amaranth leaves,neem leaves,parval,use of barley in place of wheat
for chapattis, unpolished rice after removing starch, soup of pulses
like horse gram and peas.
Avoid dairy and sugarcane products, sugar,urad dal, fish and food made
of fine flour.walk 30 to 40 minutes four days a week.Also compulsorily
practise Yoga.
Osteoarthritis can be managed with proper lubrication,fomentation and
vata pacifying diet.
Lubrication is done externally by an oil massage using sesame oil,
castor oil, mustard oil or any other medicated oil like Mahanarayana
Taila.
Fomentation should be done with steam after oil application.
A Vata pacifying diet: absolutely imperative. A mix of 1tsp.til oil,
1tsp.cow''s ghee, 1/2 tsp.ginger juice,1/2 tsp.lemon juice, and a little
jaggery helps pacify vata and reduces the inflammation of joints.
Five grams of garlic paste with a pinch of roasted hing, cumin seeds,
rock salt, black salt, dry ginger powder and black pepper taken once
a day with buttermilk eases joint pain and also works for lower
backaches.
Writer.........DR.VISHI BANSAL
Expert
Ayush Ayurvedic Science centre.