Common Joint Disorders and Arthritis We Provide Ayurvedic Treatment for…
Learn About Ayurvedic Treatment of Common Chronic Disorders and Arthritis Involving Joints and Muscles, Tendons and Ligaments within a Broader Ayurveda Perspective?
Many people are interested in knowing about Ayurvedic Treatment for Joint Disorders. These are commonly categorized in medicine under Musculoskeletal Disorders as they involve both muscles and bones, and as Locomotive Disorders as they affect flexibility of body and restrict normal movements.
This group of health problems is one of the most common causes of work and productivity loss due to pain, discomfort and distress. Perhaps, you won’t find a person who has not been affected by these health issues.
Ayurvedic Treatment can play a significant role if you want to manage Joint Disorders in a natural manner. When you couple Ayurveda with Yoga, the results can truly be nothing less than marvellous.
There are many Joint Disorders with which people come to Ayurvedic Herbalist routinely. Some of them are…
- Osteoarthritis – Chronic Vata problems
- Sciatica – Acute or Chronic pain radiating from lower back, down the back of leg
- Prolapse of Intervertebral Disc or simply Prolapse
- Spondylosis or Spondylitis – frequently present in neck and lower back and known as Cervical or Lumbar Spondylosis
- Fibromyalgia
- Gout or Joints Pain due to high level of uric acid in blood
- Ankylosing Spondylitis and Adhesive Capsulitis of shoulder or Frozen Shoulder
- Rheumatoid Arthritis
These are the common conditions where Ayurveda can offer good relief, natural treatment and better alternative management on a mid term to long term basis.
In this series of Articles on Joint Disorders, I will write about individual health problems mentioned above. But the present piece covers the broader aspects of all of them.
General Consideration for Ayurvedic Treatment of Joints’ Disorders:
In Ayurveda, all the chronic painful disorders have association of Vata dosha. If there is stiffness and heaviness, there is association of Kapha dosha. Pitta dosha association causes burning sensation, redness and general inflammation and raised temperature.
Further Avalambak Kapha (natural strength and stamina), Shleshaka Kapha (health of connective tissues), Vyana Vata (circulatory channels) are the subdoshas or subtypes of humors that are also involved in Joint Disorders.
These are the general points that can help differentiate joints problems from a symptomatic point of view. And these pointers can help a lot if they are used for planning diet, exercise and lifestyle.
Degenerative Joints’ Disorders Starting with Osteoarthritis, & Coupled with Injury
The first four of above mentioned problems are actually Degenerative disorders. Degenerative disorders are usually related with aging process, wear and tear, physical strain, overuse, abuse and injuries, poor general nutrition, lack of flexibility exercises and sedentary lifestyle.
All of them start with either Osteoarthritis or injury. The injury can be sudden or chronic. Chronic injury means gradual minor damage that simply builds upon over a period of time and then manifests as a disorder.
Even though, rest of the four above mentioned joints problems do have degenerative changes but there is a good difference there.
The first four are not complicated from Ayurvedic and medical point of view. The only complication in these disorders is advanced state of disease where there are structural defects like osteophytes (spike like growth of bones in joint space, visible in simple Xray) or severe damage to intervertebral disc (pad between two back bones, visible in Xray, CT Scan and MRI) and associated symptoms of radiating pain either down the arm or down the leg.
Spondylosis or Spondylitis is osteoarthritis of neck or lumbar region. It is complicated with osteophytes and diminished fluid and can cause radiating pain and disc compression.
Sciatica is a common result of injury or coupled with lumbar spondylosis.
PIVD or Prolapse of Intervertebral disc also results from sudden injury or chronic and gradual injury.
I have seen good relief even in very distressing cases of Sciatica, Spondylosis and Disc Prolapse with Ayurvedic Treatment for Joints Disorders. Of course, it needs some time and initial use of simple painkiller drugs.
Second Set of Joints Disorders & Their Ayurvedic Treatment
Ayurvedic Treatment for Fibromyalgia:
Back in 1995, during my third year in Ayurveda College, I used to comment about one symptom of Vata – Angamarda (general malaise or pain all over the body, a kind of soreness) with friends. This is one of the characteristic symptoms of Fibromyalgia.
Even, medical community is confused about placing Fibromyalgia among Musculoskeletal disease or Neuro-Psycho-Muscular disorders because of wide array of associated symptoms.
After my graduation, when I started clinical practice in 2001, few cases of Fibromyalgia were diagnosed even by medical doctors in India.
My close experience to Fibromyalgia patients came from Scandinavian countries starting from 2008 as it was quite common to see everyday more than one person with Fibromyalgia out of 15-20 people who I recommended Ayurveda based herbal food supplements. Now in 2011, you can find Fibromyalgia commonly diagnosed by doctors in India.
This helped me to refine my practical experience about what other holistic modalities of Ayurveda and Yoga, besides herbs, could be beneficial for them. This way of integrating natural treatment comprising of herbs and other measures gives better results and helps the person to manage Fibromyalgia in a better way.
Ayurvedic Treatment for Gout:
Gout is actually a metabolic disorder where the primary culprit is presence of higher level of Uric Acid in blood. Here, the Ayurvedic treatment for gout has naturally to be trifurcated to answer all three conditions – arthritis symptoms in joints, support for metabolism and excretion through kidney. Over short to long-term basis, Gout can be managed well with Ayurvedic natural treatment. Learn more about our Ayurvedic Treatment of Gout or High Blood Uric Acid Levels…
Ayurvedic Treatment for Autoimmune Disorders Associated With Joint Disorders:
Ankylosing Spondylitis is more severe joint disorder and includes a combination of arthritis and autoimmune disorder. Similar thoughts are kept in medical community for Frozen Shoulder.
Rheumatoid Arthritis is also common all over world. This is one of the Autoimmune disorders where Ayurveda can definitely play a role in natural treatment and management along with medical treatment.
I covered Autoimmune disorders separately as they really need better understanding of the nature of problem as well as available options in Ayurveda, Medicine and other modalities. You can find these 3 Articles about Autoimmune disorders Useful…
- Many people send us queries consistently about Autoimmune Disorders Cure. Most persons who suffer from autoimmune diseases, want to find out its cure. However, we stressed on another aspect and actually tried to show you what you should expect and accept first before reaching out for Autoimmune disorders cure. Read more…
- Autoimmune diseases are considered as a wrong form of immunity or misplaced immunity. This is true but incomplete information. Find how Autoimmune diseases is closely associated with 3 types of hypersensitivity or allergic response of our immune system. Read more…
- Immunological Tolerance is a new facet in the understanding of autoimmunity and autoimmune disorders. Just assigning autoimmune diseases to faulty immune response is half truth, rather incomplete truth. Know about Immunological Tolerance as the new facet in the understanding of autoimmune disorders and how it could help to understand Ayurvedic Treatment for autoimmune disorders.
Ayurvedic Treatment for Other Left Out Joint Disorders:
I have not mentioned any infective arthritic disorders or joint conditions as they are better dealt with antibiotic drugs.
Ayurveda has some role in post-traumatic healing and post-fracture healing process. Some herbs are beneficial in these conditions on a general basis.
There are many other disorders can well be treated naturally with Ayurveda and they include Tendinitis and Bursitis.
If you have some other joints disorders and would like to discuss its Ayurvedic treatment, please do write to us.
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