Pages

Tuesday 1 April 2014

Effective, Proven and Safe Ayurvedic Herbal Treatment for Advanced Osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis is a common and debilitating condition which affects joints, causing severe limitations to quality of life and creating an enormous economic burden.  Though related to ageing, osteoarthritis can also be adversely affected by other factors like obesity, trauma, previous surgery or infection, and genetics.  Recent medical trends believe osteoarthritis to be a mix of inflammation and degeneration which affects the entire joint.  Weight bearing joints like the knee joints are primary affected with this condition.

In the initial stage of this disease, inflammation usually causes swelling of the joint and may last for prolonged periods ranging from years to several decades.  This stage is usually followed by a gradual loss of joint space due to softening and degeneration of the cartilage.  Advanced conditions usually causes joint deviation, for example, in the knee joint, there is a collapse of the inner side of the knee resulting in outward deviation of the joint and leg.

In the initial stages of osteoarthritis, almost any anti-inflammatory medicine, be it Allopathic or Ayurvedic, combined with local application of ointments, application of heat, and simple exercises, can result in a satisfactory resolution of symptoms and provide long term relief.  However, in the chronic phase of the disease, most medicines do not work and individuals affected with this disease usually progress and become suitable candidates for joint replacement or arthroplasty.  This is the usual state of affairs since there is no known Allopathic or modern medicine which can significantly stop the progress of the disease or modify the structural damage resulting from chronic and advanced osteoarthritis.

Ayurvedic herbal medicines have a dual advantage of complete safety and a significant ability to reverse the entire disease process as well as the structural damage resulting from osteoarthritis.  Ayurvedic herbal medicines help to reduce inflammation and swelling, repair damage to the cartilage, help in healing of damaged muscles and menisci, and remove overall inflammation and swelling of the entire joint capsule.  Herbal medicines also gradually repair damage to eroded bone ends.  Local applications of medicines as well as hot or cold compresses can provide immediate and temporal relief from pain; however, Ayurvedic herbal medicines, given orally, form the mainstay of treatment for chronic or advanced osteoarthritis.

Depending upon the severity of the condition and the degree of joint damage, Ayurvedic herbal treatment may be required for periods ranging from two to eighteen months; however, this treatment is usually successful in reversing the disease process and repairing structural damage to the maximum extent possible.  With this, even individuals with advanced osteoarthritis who have been advised joint replacement can successfully lead a normal quality of life and recover joint mobility to the maximum extent possible.  Ayurvedic herbal treatment is thus a viable, safe, effective and proven treatment modality for advanced osteoarthritis as compared to surgical options which can be prohibitively costly and still provide limited mobility after surgery.  Ayurvedic herbal treatment thus has a significant role to play in the management of severe or advanced osteoarthritis.


The writer, Dr. A. A. Mundewadi, is available as an online Ayurvedic Consultant at https://www.mundewadiayurvedicclinic.com and http://www.ayurvedaphysician.com