Arthritis and Joint Pains

Arthritis is one of the most common chronic diseases in the world. Despite lot of research and effort, an effective cure has still eluded us. All that can be offered are the anti inflammatory and pain killers like Aspirin. According to Ayurveda arthritis is primarily a vata (air) disease which is due to accumulation of toxins in the joints and is known as amavata.

Symptoms
The main symptom of this disease is severe pain in the affected joints. The tissues in and around the joints become inflamed and movement of the joint becomes extremely painful. Untreated arthritis may lead to permanent deformity of the affected joints.

Causes
Causes include internal and external factors. It is more common in cold, damp and windy climates. Internally it is a condition which is related to low Agni (poor digestive fire) and poor digestion which leads to the accumulation of toxins (ama). The toxins (ama) produced in the colon are taken up by various parts of the body and depending on the site of deposition, it causes many diseases in the body. For example, if it deposits in the lungs, it causes cough and asthma, in the intestines it causes dysentery. When it deposits in the joints and at the same time there is aggravation of vata, that means if biological humor air is also disturbed, it results in a disease called amavata or arthritis.

Remedies
The first step in treatment is to burn up the accumulated toxins and this can be achieved by reviving the digestive fire.
Short fasting is very beneficial for digesting the ama.
Eating habits should be regularized and heavy, damp, ama forming foods should be avoided.
Hot spicy herbs can be very useful like, cayenne, cinnamon, dry ginger and galangal.
Hot gemstones such as ruby or garnet set in gold can be used.
Bake one or two egg plants (about 250gms.). Mash it properly and fry it in about 50ml. Castor oil. Some spices like cumin, coriander, turmeric and salt can be added to it while frying. This recipe can be taken once daily for two to three months. Adding two cloves of garlic while cooking makes it very beneficial.
Medicated oils used for massage are very helpful in relieving stiffness and pain in the joints, whole body massage with sesame or mustard oil helps to reduce the vata and thus reduce the pain.
Camphor, wintergreen and cinnamon oils are beneficial for external application. They can be combined with herbs like ashwagandha in sesame oil for external applications.
Daily use of the Ayurvedic compound Triphala is recommended to cleanse the colon.
Guggul is a very helpful herb for curing arthritis. It is most specific for cleaning and strengthening the bone tissue. If available it can be taken in one to 3gm dose twice a day after meals with warm water.
Taking 2gm turmeric powder twice a day along with warm water helps in curing arthritis.