Ayurvedic Treatment for Arthritis & Joint Stiffness

• In kapha-type arthritis, the joint also becomes stiff and swollen, but it feels cold and clammy rather than hot. A little movement, rather than aggravating the pain, tends to relieve it. The pain is greater in the morning, and as the person starts moving around, the pain diminishes. FOR ALL TYPES OF ARTHRITIS Treatment for each type of arthritis is unique, as we shall see in a moment.

But for all cases, it is important to know that arthritis begins in the colon. Depending on the person’s lifestyle, diet, and emotional pattern, either vata, pitta, or kapha goes out of balance. Then that particular dosha slows down agni (digestive fire), resulting in the toxic, sticky by-product of inadequate digestion known as ama. Vata, the main active dosha, brings the ama into the colon, and from there it travels through the system and lodges in the asthi dhatu (bone tissue) and in the joints, giving rise to the stiffness and pain characteristic of arthritis.

So our aim in treating arthritis is to remove the ama from the joint and bring it back to the colon, and then to eliminate it. This is why, to relieve arthritis, it is important to keep the colon clean. To accomplish this, if you do not know positively whether it is vata, pitta, or kapha arthritis, taking triphala at night (1 teaspoon) with some warm water (½ to 1 cup) will be effective for all types. Alternatively, if you know positively which type it is, you can use haritaki for vata- type arthritis, amalaki for pitta-type, and bibhitaki for kapha-type arthritis (½ to 1 teaspoon with warm water in all cases).

Now for the complete treatments. FOR VATA-TYPE ARTHRITIS • Follow the vata-pacifying diet (chapter 8). Favor warm, easy-to-digest foods, and avoid cold foods and drinks, including salads. Avoid beans, drying grains such as barley and corn, and the nightshades: tomato, potato, and eggplant.

• Take yogaraj guggulu, 1 tablet 3 times per day. • Apply mahanarayan oil on the affected joint, followed by application of local moist heat. For example, say you have an arthritic ankle. Apply the mahanarayan oil, rub it into the skin, and then soak your foot in warm to bearably hot water.