Living Pain-Free Life With Osteoarthritis
Living Pain-Free Life With Osteoarthritis
Priya’s situation is similar to that of many people who suffer from knee osteoarthritis. She had been an active, healthy, professional lady for the majority of her life until she began to have knee joint pain in her fifties.
The pain was first manageable with home remedies and pain relievers, but it gradually worsened to the point where she couldn’t sleep at night or do her normal routine work.
An x-ray of the knee revealed osteoarthritis, or “wear and tear” arthritis, a degenerative condition in which the smooth cartilage covering the ends of the bones gradually wears away. When she was told she needed a knee replacement, she came to Shathayu Retreat. She was just 52 years old at the time, and the pain was excruciating, preventing her from participating in outdoor activities, sitting, and other activities.
She underwent a variety of therapies at Shathayu Retreat for her knee, including panchakarma rejuvenation, yoga and stretching, and the use of medicinal herbs.
She couldn’t climb three steps on the first day, but by the end of the seven-day ayurvedic treatment for Osteoarthritis, she was able to climb stairs with ease and resume her daily routine.
So let’s understand Knee Pain and Osteoarthritis: How to Prevent, Manage, and Heal
What exactly is osteoarthritis?
The most common type of arthritis is osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis causes the cartilage in your joints to wear away.
Osteoarthritis is most common in people between the ages of 40 and 50, and it affects nearly everyone by the age of 70.
• You may experience joint pain, swelling, and stiffness, particularly in the mornings
• Being overweight and overuse of knee joints, old injuries can increase your risk of getting osteoarthritis fairly young
• The best way to prevent Osteoarthritis is by rejuvenating joints and avoiding or extending degenerative changes through exercise, herbs, and therapy
What causes osteoarthritis?
Osteoarthritis is a chronic degenerative disease that primarily affects the knee joint. It is caused by cartilage damage in the joint. Cartilage lines the insides of joints and cushions the ends of bones during various movements. When cartilage is damaged, bones rub against each other, causing pain, crepitus, and restricted joint movement. With damage to the cartilage and bone, the joint can no longer move smoothly and work correctly
You have a higher risk of getting osteoarthritis if you:
• Are an older woman
• Are overweight
• Have already injured a joint
• Have weak muscles or damaged nerves in your legs or arms
• Do work that puts stress on your joints
• Have family members with osteoarthritis
What signs and symptoms of osteoarthritis?
Common symptoms include • Pain or a deep ache that worsens when you put weight on the joint, such as when standing;
Restricted and painful movements of the joint.
• Stiffness in your joints after sleeping or staying still that goes away about 30 minutes after moving around
• Joints that don’t straighten or bend fully
Joints that crackle when you move
• Localized tenderness/swelling in severe cases,
How to treat osteoarthritis?
The main goals of treatment are to:
• Relieve your pain
• Keep your joints flexible
• Keep your joints working and you moving
Most people begin with over-the-counter pain relievers, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), and NSAID creams that can be applied to the skin.
Some doctors may also prescribe stronger pain relievers or inject corticosteroids into a painful, swollen joint.
Ayurveda treatment for pain management in arthritis includes modalities that help to relieve pain and stiffness. It also aids in the restoration of joint functions. A combination of panchakarma, rejuvenation knee therapy, and medicines will benefit patients by improving routine activities and will be easily accessible, effective, and cost-effective.
Ayurveda Treatment for Knee pain
Panchakarma plays an important role in the management of osteoarthritis. Following are the procedures that are very effective in osteoarthritis. Duration of the procedure ranges from 7 -21 days
- Abhyanga – It includes full body massage and local massage over the affected joints with specific medicated oils.
- Janu Basti – Excellent rejuvenation therapy for the knee to reduce pain and stiffness. It is the procedure in which specific medicated oil is used for knee joints.
- Lepa – Application of medicated paste over the knee joint
- Sweda/Medicated steam – churna pinda sweda/ patrapinda sweda Hot herbal steam for joints
- Virechana and Basti – Panchakarma treatments
Exercise for Knee arthritis
Appropriate exercises—including stretching, strengthening, and postural exercises—help maintain healthy cartilage, increase a joint’s range of motion, and most importantly strengthen surrounding muscles so that they can absorb stress better.
Exercises
- Daily stretching exercises with Therapeutic yoga for knee
- Strengthening exercises such as weight lifting
- Low-impact aerobic exercises such as walking Preferably swimming as Water exercises help to avoid stressing the joint
- Stretching exercises should be done daily.
Exercise must be balanced with a few minutes of rest of painful joints (every 4 to 6 hours during the day), but immobilizing a joint is more likely to worsen the disease than relieve it.
Can Ayurveda Avoid Knee Replacement Surgery?
Knee replacement surgery is the latest development in medical science. Whether it is good or bad? – This decision has to be taken considering the individual case. For example a 75-year-old, weak patient with a cardiac problem, has the risk of surgery & having attacks of pain intermittently. This can very well control by Ayurvedic management. The first line of treatment can be definitely Ayurveda as most cases get relief easily with Ayurveda therapies.
Most of the time Ayurveda therapies and Basti treatments can heal the knee and one can avoid Knee replacement surgery.
Final Note managing Arthritis Naturally.
- Physical therapy often with Heat therapy such as heating pads, Warm towels Ayurveda medicated steams like pinda sweda, nadi sweda, potali sweda help to recover from pain faster Range-of-motion exercises done gently in warm water are helpful because heat improves muscle function by reducing stiffness and muscle spasm.
- Orthotic supportive shoes may help reduce pain caused by walking.
- Losing weight can relieve some of the pressure on joints.
- Acupuncture/acupressure releases various chemical messengers in the brain that serve as natural painkillers and may be helpful.
- Massage by trained therapists and medicated oils with heat treatments are useful
- Very regular daily oil massage to all joints, before bath & once in a week whole-body massage.
- Amalaki, Shatavari, Ashwagandha, Shigru are good herbs for Sandhivata patients and are given generally in the morning period.(Rasayan Kal)
- When there is pain & inflammation it’s advised for no movement or strong massage, rather complete rest is required
Visit Shathayu Retreat and consult our doctors for a completely holistic approach to knee pain and osteoarthritis with Ayurveda, Yoga, naturopathy, acupuncture and herbs, and Ayurveda medicines.
Visit www.shathayuretreat.com