Dr. Purva Gupta

For a disease that affects almost eighty percent of people over 50 years of age, not much is known about curing joint pains. Allopathic medicine remains almost clueless about a complete cure for joint pains which occur due to various reasons like heredity and lifestyle. It treats the pain with pain killers, inflammation reducers and other such drugs which do not heal the joint completely and lead to other problems too.

Ayurveda and Joint Pain
Ayurveda has its own unique perspective on joint problems. According to it, these occur due to:

• Poorly-nourished joints
• Low bone density and overall weakness in joints

The main symptom of poorly nourished joints is discomfort followed by a crackling sound. In this, the bone making up the joint can degenerate due to lack of proper nutrition. Low bone density joints usually occur due to a toxic overload in the joints called ‘ama’ in Ayurveda. Ama is the sticky, toxic waste product of incomplete digestion and this accumulates in joints making them stiff and heavy. Ama accumulation for long can make a joint swollen and painful. Damp, cold weather can aggravate this type of joint problem. If ‘vata’ the Ayurvedic dosha associated with movements and proper functioning of metabolism and assimilation is aggravated, it can cause joint pain too.

The imbalance in Vyana Vata, a special form of vata associated with bone damage along with weakened circulation, metabolism and absorption creates an imbalance in ‘kapha’ the other major dosha in the body, according to Ayurveda. ‘Shleshaka’ Kapha, the sub-dosha of Kapha that controls lubrication of joints dries up. This makes the un-lubricated joints very vulnerable and one starts getting pain.

Ayurvedic treatment
The first line of treatment for joint pains is pacifying the Vata dosha through food and lifestyle modifications like:

• Include all six tastes -sweet, sour, salty, bitter, astringent, and pungent- in the diet. However, sweet, sour and salty tastes are very good to pacify Vata dosha.
• Eat less of bitter, astringent and pungent foods.
• Eat more grains like quinoa, rye and amaranth, cooked in ghee.
• Freshly-cooked organic vegetables and warm liquid soups are best.
• Eat a diet rich in calcium- milk, spinach, kale, asparagus, and root vegetables.
• A Vata pacifying daily routine like eating before 8 pm in the night and keeping dinner light and sleeping early are also advised.

If possible get a daily Ayurvedic oil massage ‘abhyanga’ with special medicated oils to prevent joint problems. Regular habits help settle Vata. So, it’s suggested that one goes to bed at the same time each day, gets up at the same time and follows a regular routine for pacifying Vata. Getting stress under control though meditation and pranayama also does wonders. If you wish to discuss about any specific problem, you can consult an Ayurveda.

Lumbago or Lower back pain is a condition that is characterized by mild to serious pain or uneasiness in the lower back region. Lower back pain is more prevalent among the youth whose work includes physical exertion or sitting for long hours and is also common in individuals belonging to the 'retirement age' because of their sedentary lifestyles. The pain might be acute (sudden and extreme) or chronic if it has been endured over a span of three months. 

The most common causes of lower back pain are: 

1. Overuse of the muscles and includes strains or sprains of soft tissues such as muscles, ligaments and vertebral compression fractures. 
2. Pressure on the roots of nerves due to conditions such as spinal canal stenosis (narrowing down of the spaces within the spine) or herniated disc (a condition of the rubbery disc present between the spine bones (vertebrae)). 
3. Osteoarthritis is a condition wherein the shock absorbers, found in the joints, progressively break down. 

When it affects the spine, the condition causes back pain by stiffening the spinal joints. Symptoms of Lumbago (Low back pain) include: 

1. Stiff back 
2. Numbness in the legs 
3. Loss of weight 
4. Difficulty in urinating 
5. Sciatica, which is the pain running down the lower back to hips, legs and thighs. This occurs due to a compression by an intervertebral disc in the back, which leads to a pinched nerve. 

How to diagnose lower back pain or a slip disc?

Some methods that can be utilized for diagnosing back include Xray, CT Scans, Myelogram and MRI scans. 

Treatment options available -
Exercises along with correction of bad posture for relieving back pain are a common component of any treatment plan. Factors such as type and severity of the pain as well as the patient's history can help in determining the type of treatment that can be administered. In most cases, the recovery time is usually six weeks without surgery. Typical treatment of back pain includes use of muscle relaxants, painkillers and physiotherapy. Surgery is suggested in severe cases. Some other treatments are discussed below: 

1. Rest: A period of rest and inactivity would help the injured tissues to recuperate and relieve back pain. However, extended periods of rest lead to weakening of muscles and hence might prolong the existing back pain. 
2. Heat and ice packs: Both heat and ice therapies are used according to the patient's preference to reduce inflammation. 
3. Medications: A large variety of prescription and over-the-counter medicines are available. Some reduce back pain caused by inflammation and others prevent the pain signals from travelling to the brain. Examples would include acetaminophen, celecoxib and diclofenac. If you wish to discuss about any specific problem, you can consult an orthopedist.