Osteoarthritis
What is Osteoarthritis?
There are over a hundred different known forms of arthritis. The most common is osteoarthritis. The larger, weight-bearing joints such as the hips and the knees, as well as those in the lower back, hands, and feet are able to sustain functionality because of the existence of cartilage. Cartilage serves as a sponge-like matter that allows the bones to move without rubbing or colliding together. When the cartilage degenerates, however, the sufferer experiences pain.
This pain can range from a mild irritation—particularly at the early stages of the condition—to outright debilitation and inability for the sufferer to move or use the affected joints. This degeneration of cartilage is osteoarthritis, and it affects over 20 million people in the United States.
In Western medicine, osteoarthritis patients are taught to rest the affected joints and reduce their participation in activities associated with their symptoms. They are often encouraged to participate in certain exercises for improved joint health and to practice physical and occupational therapy. When treated medicinally, osteoarthritis patients are administered NSAID medication (such as ibuprofen) and pain relievers (such as aspirin and acetaminophen).
How Does Ayurveda View Osteoarthritis?
Ayurveda associates osteoarthritis with an imbalance of the Vata dosha, which is concerned with issues related to movement and elimination. The home of Vata energy rests in the large intestine, and when toxic matter builds up in the large intestine as a result of improper elimination, the body suffers from poor blood circulation and dryness. This imbalance triggers a complementary reduction in the moist, supportive qualities of Kapha energy. The absence of this moisture leads to a decreased nourishment to the cartilage and dry, painful joints are the result.
How Does Ayurveda Treat Osteoarthritis?
When treating osteoarthritis, it is the intention of an Ayurvedic healer to bring the excessive Vata energy back into balance. This is done by building the patient’s digestive strength and regulating their elimination cycle. Patients are taught to favor denser, moisturizing foods like lentils, cooked vegetables, and ghee to buildup the strengthening properties of Kapha energy and to lubricate the joints. Other supplemental treatments include massage with mahanaraya oil and mild forms of exercise. Ayurvedic herbs used to treat osteoarthritis include triphala, trikatu, and guggul.
Lifestyle Changes for Osteoarthritis
When we neglect to establish the root cause of one illness, it can turn into another, stronger illness in the future. The first step in resolving a specific ailment or disease in the body is to assess the nature of our lifestyle and make general modifications. Living our day-to-day life with a deliberate intention to improve our health will help us to both resolve the disease we are suffering from and prevent further incidence of it and other diseases in the future.
- Favor cooked over raw foods, as raw foods create more dryness in the body and are more difficult to digest.
- Prepare foods with oils such as sesame oil and olive oil, but favor applying the oil until after the foods have already cooked in water. Oil will lubricate the system and regulate elimination.
- Avoid animal products such as pork and red meat.
- Avoid spicy foods and sour foods like yogurt, as these are more likely to create digestive problems and can lead to further toxic buildup in the large intestine.
- Massage the whole body, but the affected joints in particular, with sesame oil. Conduct this activity for several minutes every day.
- Go to sleep earlier rather than later as the system will dry up when the body is kept up late.
- Make sure to add ghee to all cooked foods (1 or 2 tablespoons) as this is a great source of lubrication to the bones.
- Stay away from too much talking as this also dries the system further.
Better Foods For Osteoarthritis
Ayurveda teaches us that disease and sickness are derived from poor digestion and inappropriate food choices. We then have the opportunity to make deliberate and more conscious decisions as to what foods we do and do not put in our body which increases the chance of resolving the body’s imbalance.
Food needs to be in season, in moderate combinations of one or two food groups, not too hot or cold, in a modest enough quantity to allow for room in the stomach later, consumed without too much liquid which hinders digestive power, and should be fresh and not left over for more than a few hours. The following foods will help to create moisture in the body and balance the aggravated Vata energy associated with osteoarthritis:
Peaches
Plums
Ghee
Milk
Bananas
Berries
Apricots
Figs (fresh)
Carrots
Sweet potatoes
Asparagus
Beets
Zucchini
Lentils
Oats (cooked)
Sesame oil
Olive oil
Whole wheat (unbleached)
White basmati rice
Mung beans
Foods To AVOID In Response To Osteoarthritis
While some foods can help to balance an aggravated dosha, other foods can cause further imbalance. Dry and cold foods as well as pungent, bitter and astringent tastes will dry out the body and aggravate the Vata dosha.Sour, salty and pungent tastes as well as spicy foods will add more heat to the body and aggravate the Pitta dosha. Sweet, sour and salty tasting foods will add heaviness to the body and aggravate the Kapha dosha. The following foods can further dry out the body and increase the symptoms associated with osteoarthritis:
Apples
Pears
Watermelon
Cauliflower
Broccoli
Celery
Eggplant
Tomatoes
Avoid raw and cold foods
Corn
Oats (dry)
Barley
Most legumes including green lentils and garbanzo beans
Beverages For Osteoarthritis
Generally, Ayurveda discourages the consumption of too many cold beverages, as doing so hinders the strength of the body’s digestive fire. Instead, favors room temperature or hot beverages to encourage the strength of the digestive fire.
Hot water, especially during meals and first thing in the morning.
Herbal teas of ginger, fennel, coriander, and turmeric
Orange juice (freshly squeezed)
Avoid cold and frozen drinks
Avoid sugary or fizzy drinks that blend with the digestive juice and make it weak.
Avoid alcohol, coffee, and black tea.
Herbs For Osteoarthritis
Herbs are used in the Ayurvedic system much like Western medicine utilizes drugs and vitamins and can be taken like tea 2 to 3 times a day. Herbs aid in the digestion of food, the breakdown and elimination of toxins, and help to strengthen the cellular structure of our system for greater vitality. Herbs become more potent once mixed with other herbs of similar properties. Mix together 2 to 4 different herbs from the below list by adding a quarter to a half teaspoon full of each, for a total of 1 teaspoon. Drink these in half cup of hot water.
Ginger (fresh)
Coriander
Cinnamon
Fennel
Turmeric
Cumin
Triphala
Trikatu
Guggul
Asafoetida
Garlic
Alfalfa
Castor oil (take a half tablespoon two hours after eating and at night before bed)
Yoga Postures For Osteoarthritis
When applied therapeutically to specific ailments, yoga postures provide an opportunity to strengthen the body, rid it of toxic matter, and restore balance. The postures included in this section can be practiced as part of a more general sequence or can be focused on in short sessions. When first exploring yoga postures, it is best to only practice them for twenty minutes or so per day and buildup from there once the body becomes more flexible:
Bow
Camel
Plough
Head stand
Knees to chest
Corpse
Aromatherapy For Osteoarthritis
Aromatherapy utilizes the fragrances of essential oils when applied to the skin. Essential oils can burn the skin and therefore must be diluted with a base oil such as sesame, coconut, sunflower, canola, or mustard oil. Mix 1 fluid ounce of base oil with about 12 drops of essential oil before applying to skin. You can also just mix 5 drops of base oil to one drop of essential oil if using on one spot.
- Osteoarthritis can be treated with basil, camphor, cedar, eucalyptus, frankincense, ginger, cinnamon, lily, lotus, musk, myrrh, patchouli, or sandalwood oil.
- For pain, massage oils of chamomile, lavender or valerian into the area.
- Use sesame oil as a base.
- Apply oil on the skin wherever there are problem areas.
Mantra Therapy For Osteoarthritis
Ayurvedic tradition suggests that repeating certain words or sounds can help a person suffering from an ailment to restore subtle balance to nerve tissue and enhance one’s mental clarity. Different sounds are prescribed to either repeat mentally or chant outwardly. These sounds are also used and repeated in the mind for the purpose of spiritual growth.
- To help control and resolve osteoarthritis, repeat the syllable “Hoom” for several minutes a few times a day and build more practice over time.
- To help control and resolve osteoarthritis, repeat the syllable “Hoom” for several minutes a few times a day and build more practice over time.
Breathing Practices For Osteoarthritis
Controlling the breath is a central practice toward developing peace and stillness in the mind and body. When the breath is under our control, we are no longer at the mercy of the senses that are stimulated by everything and lead to greater fluctuations of the mind. When applied to the context of resolving specific ailments, the breath is used as a tool for developing lung capacity, heating and cooling the body and resolving mental afflictions like anxiety and stress.