Symptoms

The main symptom of this disease is severe pain in the affected joints. The muscles, ligaments, synovial membrane and cartilage get inflamed and the movement of the joint becomes extremely painful, specially in cold, windy and damp weather. If this condition is not treated properly, the joint becomes immobile and this may ultimately lead to deformity of the joint. Sometimes it is associated with fever.

Causes

Arthritis or pain in the joints is a very common problem. It becomes aggravated in cold, damp and windy climate. According to Ayurveda mostly pains are caused by the aggravation of vata (air) dosha. Arthritis is a condition which is caused by accumulation of ama and aggravation of vata. Ama is a toxic by-product of improper digestion. When the food we eat is not digested completely by the digestive fire, it produces a toxic substance called ama. This ama circulates in the whole body and deposits or gets collected at the sites which are weaker.

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. This amavata is arthritis. Thus the patient generally has a weak digestion. A history of wind and constipation is usually found in these cases. People who overeat or eat too much fried foods, sweets, meats etc. and have no or very little physical activity can develop this problem.

Remedies

1. As described above ama and vata are the main causes, so efforts should be made to digest ama and to reduce the vata. The digestion should be improved so that no further ama is produced. Efforts should be made to relieve the pain and inflammation. This is the line of treatment according to Ayurveda.
2. Fasting is very beneficial for digesting the ama. People with vata type constitution should not fast for more than three days. Pitta constitution can fast for five days and kapha for seven days. The fasting be complete or partial depending on the strength of the person, season and place. Two tea spoons of lemon juice mixed in 250ml. of warm water and a tea spoon of honey is good to take twice a day -morning and evening.
3. 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.
4. Whole body massage with sesame or mustard oil helps to reduce the vata and thus reduce the pain. The joints affected by pain can be massaged for longer time.
5. Alternate hot and cold fomentation and sunbath gives some temporary relief from the pain. Mix 10g&127;m camphor powder in 40ml. of kerosene oil. Then put this mixture in a transparent bottle and close the cap tightly. Keep the bottle in sunlight or mild heat for one hour. Massaging this on the affected joints gives immediate relief from the pain.
6. Camphor, wintergreen and cinnamon oils are beneficial for external application.
7. Guggul is a very helpful herb for curing arthritis. If available it can be taken in one to 3gm dose twice a day after meals with warm water.
8. Make a paste of red chilies and fresh ginger (5gms. each). Mix this paste nicely in 100ml. sesame oil and strain it. A gentle rubbing of this oil on the painful area instantly reduces the pain. Taking 2gm turmeric powder twice a day along with warm water helps in curing arthritis.
9. Take two cloves of garlic and fry them in ghee (clarified butter ) or in castor oil. Eat these cloves once daily for two-three months. Or, eating one raw clove of garlic every day is very beneficial. It is little difficult to eat raw garlic because of its strong smell and burning taste.

Diet and Regimen