Ayurvedic Rheumatoid Arthritis Treatment

Ayurvedic Treatment for Rheumatoid Arthritis

At Dr Dassan’s Ayurveda, we look into the patient’s lifestyle and dietary habits to understand the underlying causes of the disease. So, the first step is improving digestion to eliminate Ama from the body. For this purpose the patient is asked to have very light, easy to digest food. We emphasize on balancing the vitiated Vata through our natural medications which are a blend of classical formulations and natural herbs. Their anti-inflammatory properties help in nourishing the affected areas and relieving pain and swelling. Joints are nourished and joint flexibility is improved by practicing abhyanga(massage) on the afflicted parts with herbal oils. Patients are made to follow certain practices to reduce further wear and tear of the joints and promote its regeneration. As it is a vata disorder, a vata balancing diet and lifestyle is necessary to be followed along with the medications.

About Rheumatoid Arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic inflammatory disorder that usually affects the small joints of hands and feet resulting in swollen, painful and inflamed joints. Over time if left untreated, it can affect more than just the joints. It is correlated with amavata in ayurveda because it originates from two components ama and vata. Ama refers to the metabolic waste and vata refers to the air.

Statistics of Rheumatoid Arthritis

• Every year, 71 out of every 100,000 people are diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis.
• Rheumatoid arthritis affects women two to three times more as compared to men.

Risk factors of Rheumatoid Arthritis

• Women are more affected
• Most common in middle aged people
• Family history of rheumatoid arthritis
• Being affected by chronic stress
• Habitual cigarette Smoking
• Being overweight

Symptoms of Rheumatoid Arthritis

• Many joints get inflamed at the same time
• The joints on both sides of the body get inflamed symmetrically.
• Usually the small joints of hands & feet get inflamed first
• Tenderness, pain, stiffness & swelling in the joints
• Low appetite with associated weight loss
• Low grade fever
• Occasional flare ups i.e severe episodes
• Chronic fatigue and weakness

Associated deformities with Rheumatoid arthritis due to synovitis:-

• Swan neck deformity
• Boutonniere deformity
• Ulnar deviation
• Formation of rheumatoid nodules

Ayurvedic Causative Fact

• Excessive intake of cold, dry & spicy food
• Staying hungry for longer periods
• Chronic indigestion
• Incompatible food combinations
• Suppressing natural urges to defecate, cry, etc
• Staying up late at night
• Intake of food at irregular intervals
• Exposure to cold winds
• Long-term fear, anger, grief & stress.
• Having next meal before previous meal digestion.

All of the above-mentioned practices play a key role in aggravating Vata dosha and the formation of -metabolic waste called Ama.

Ayurvedic Pathogenesis

Amavata is a disease formed as a result of 2 components :

• Ama formation: Ama is a toxic metabolic waste formed as a result of low metabolism and chronic indigestion.
• Vata aggravation Due to certain aggravating factors, Vata gets aggravated and pushes the Ama into the shleshma sthan (the synovial fluid) in between the joints producing toxins and causing inflammation in those joints.

Treatment

At Dr Dassan’s Ayurveda, we look into the patient’s lifestyle and dietary habits to understand the underlying causes of the disease. So, the first step is improving digestion to eliminate Ama from the body. For this purpose the patient is asked to have very light, easy to digest food. We emphasize on balancing the vitiated Vata through our natural medications which are a blend of classical formulations and natural herbs. Their anti-inflammatory properties help in nourishing the affected areas and relieving pain and swelling. Joints are nourished and joint flexibility is improved by practicing abhyanga(massage) on the afflicted parts with herbal oils. Patients are made to follow certain practices to reduce further wear and tear of the joints and promote its regeneration. As it is a vata disorder, a vata balancing diet and lifestyle is necessary to be followed along with the medications.