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Stop Living with Joint Pain! Ayurveda to the Rescue

Joint Pain is no joke.There’s nothing more painful than walking around with your joints feeling and hurting like a stone grinder. But believe it or not, Ayurveda has some amazing hidden secrets for quick relief.
Before jumping into how Ayurveda can actually improve your joints, it’s best to understand the anatomy from an Ayurvedic perspective.
Ayurvedic Anatomy of Joints
The main function of our joints is to hold two or more bones meeting a particular point together. Joints also facilitate movement within the skeletal system and thus the human body. The synovial joints, where the ends of bone are connected by a joint cavity or capsule containing synovial fluid, allow freedom in the execution of our movements.
All of the supportive tissues, bones, ligaments, tendons, and connective tissue, are kapha dosha. The cavity where the bones meet is an element ruled by vata dosha. Nerve endings that pass through these ligaments and transmit signals to the muscles stimulating movement. This is a function of vata dosha. Thus, our body’s movement is dependent on healthy joint tissue and its proper functioning.
Vata Dosha
According to Ayurveda, vitiated or disturbed vata dosha leads to an imbalance within the joints causing pain and discomfort.
At this point, it is important to distinguish whether or not the imbalance exists with or without a sticky toxin called ama.
This can be done with a simple organic test that involves massaging organic sesame oil into the joint.
- If the symptoms are intensified, then there is ama present, a condition known as amavata.
- If the symptoms are relieved by the oil massage or stay the same, then the treatment will begin with the removal of the causative factors and balancing vata dosha.
Amavata
In amavata, ama is transmitted by misdirected or vitiated vata into circulation throughout the body. Upon reacting with the kapha in the joints, the synovial fluid loses its viscosity and changes into a sticky toxic substance. This substance blocks the flow of essential nutrients to tissues throughout the body and causes the joints to stop functioning properly.
Added to that, the body’s natural defense system can begin to attack the ama stored in the joints resulting in:
- Inflammation
- Heat emitting from the joints
- Redness
- Stiffness
- Swelling
- Excruciating pain
If left unattended to, the symptoms develop into chronic conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis. The clotting of ama with dead cells can also lead to autoimmune responses leading to more problems.
The accumulation of ama can largely be attributed to:
- Improper diet
- Excessive exercise
- Exhaustion due to overwork
- Anxiety
- Consumption of alcohol
- Cold & damp climates
- Ama Reducing Protocol
How to Reduce Ama
Treatment to reduce ama and balance the doshas include:
- Eat warm, nourishing, easy-to-digest meals like kichari,
- Include ghee or flax seed oil in your diet,
- Avoid white sugar, alcohol, and dairy (particularly ice cream and cheese)
- Apply a thin layer of castor oil to sore joints before applying a heating pad to help support joint comfort and scrape ama,
- Sip hot water – the best digestive medicine to remove toxins from your body,
- Practice Ujjayi and Nadi Shodana pranayama to help you to remove natural toxins from the body, and address any signs and consequences of anxiety.
Aata dosha
Some common symptoms of vata imbalance in the joints include:
- Dryness
- Popping
- Cracking
- Muscle tics
- Muscle spasms
The drying out of vata also diminishes the lubricating qualities of kapha leaving joint surfaces rough and brittle. Some common causative factors include exercises that rigorously work the joints such as jogging, jumping, excessive gym training, injury, consuming too many dry foods, living in a cold, dry climate, and irregular eating habits. The symptoms tend to be worse when one enters the later stages of their life and also during the vata season of fall.
Home Remedies
Nonetheless, Ayurveda offers simple herbal remedies for promoting healthy functioning of the joints.
A few lifestyle therapies for balancing excess vata in the joints include:
- Maintaining a regular sleeping and waking up pattern during the day,
- Abhyanga; self-oil massage every evening preferably with organic Sesame oil or vata massage oil,
- Localized Mahanarayan oil massage locally into sore and stiff joints,
- Follow a vata pacifying diet that involves taking meals at regular times during the day,
- And practicing gentle yoga; the Pawanmuktasana movements help to reduce vata and increase lubrication of the joints.
Ayurveda can really do wonders for relieving joint pain and restoring their proper function. But if you still think you need a bit more, don’t hesitate to drop into an urgent care center near your home.
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– Jacob Griscom, President of Everyday Ayurveda
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