Joint pain can be a common problem experienced by any individual despite their age. You might be experiencing it due to different reasons such as due to an injury, inflammation, infection, or an underlying medical condition.
It not only gives you that pain but also makes your joints weak over time, affecting your overall well-being. You are here which means you are not satisfied with the medications for getting the joint pain relief you want. Then let us introduce you to a holistic approach to relieving joint pain.
Ayurveda takes a natural approach to your joint pain problem and helps you get relief by treating its underlying cause. Using Ayurvedic therapies along with joint pain oil massages can further enhance the healing process, providing deeper comfort and flexibility. The combination of yoga with Ayurveda works wonders as it slowly eradicates the root cause of your problem, giving you the relief you seek. So, let us dive into how this holistic approach can save you from sore joint pain.
How can Ayurveda help you get joint pain relief?
Joint pain in Ayurveda can arise due to an imbalance in Vata doshas. When Vata accumulates, it causes dryness, stiffness, and inflammation in the joints. Ayurvedic treatment focuses on restoring the doshas’ balance and addressing the discomfort’s root cause. An Ayurvedic approach here focuses on combining dietary changes, herbal remedies, lifestyle practices, and therapies to reduce pain, inflammation, and stiffness.
Ayurvedic Practices to manage your joint pain
1. Try Doing an Ayurvedic Massage
In Ayurveda, abhyanga is a massaging ritual followed that provides relief from various types of pain. Massage your joints with warm herbal oils, in affected areas or as per your convenience. This will help you improve your blood circulation and joint flexibility.
2. Consume these Ayurvedic herbs.
Ayurvedic herbs such as turmeric, ginger, and Shallaki are popularly known for their benefits in healing joint pain. Shallaki strengthens the joint and reduces swelling & inflammation. Turmeric contains curcumin which eases joint pain and improves its flexibility. Ginger on the other hand is a useful herb in managing joint pain conditions such as osteoarthritis.
3. Try Panchakarma
Panchakarma is a traditional Ayurvedic therapy that focuses on balancing the doshas and bringing back the balance. It plays a crucial role, especially in the ayurvedic treatment for rheumatoid arthritis. It focuses on five primary procedures – Vamana, Virechana, Basti and
Nasya and Raktamokshana.
4. Modify your diet
Try to modify your diet with some anti-inflammatory and warm digestible food to support joint health. Certain foods can aggravate joint pain, while others can help soothe inflammation and improve lubrication in the joints. Avoid processed and refined sugars, and include more Soups, stews, and cooked vegetables in your diet.
Apart from these Ayurvedic remedies, yoga is one such Ayurvedic practice that helps provide joint pain relief. We’ll discuss the same in detail.
How Yoga Can Help With Joint Pain?
Yoga is highly beneficial for people struggling with joint pain problems. It helps people with arthritis and other joint pain issues to manage their condition better. It not only gives relief from physical symptoms of joint pain but also helps in coping with mental challenges such as stress and anxiety during pain. Now we will discuss some yoga asanas that you can easily incorporate into your day-to-day routine to get relief.
1. Tadasana (Mountain Pose)
Tadasana is an Ayurveda yoga practice that focuses on improving body posture, strengthening the legs, and promoting overall body alignment. This standing pose helps improve body awareness, and blood circulation, promoting joint health.
How to do Mountain Pose?
- Stand on your feet, now spread your toes, and arms by your sides.
- Lift your chest, and extend your spine, engage your thighs here
- Now reach your arms overhead with your palms facing each other.
- Focus on grounding your feet downwards while stretching upward through the crown of your head.
- Hold for several breaths and then release. Repeat
2. Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward-Facing Dog)
This yoga asana focuses on stretching and strengthening the arms, shoulders, and legs, helping you to reduce joint stiffness and promote mobility. It also provides relief from any kind of tension in the spine and increases blood circulation in joints.
How to do adho mukha svanasana ?
- Start in a tabletop position with your hands and knees
- Now tuck your toes and lift your hips toward the ceiling, creating an inverted “V” shape.
- Keep your hands shoulder-width apart and feet hip-width apart.
- Press your heels toward the floor, while keeping your knees slightly bent if needed.
- Hold for several breaths, then slowly return to the tabletop position. Repeat
3. Balasana (Child’s Pose)
This yoga pose symbolizes a resting, child-like posture, and is practised for relaxation and to relieve stress. It helps to provide relief from joint tension and also soothe back and neck pain.
How to do Balasana?
- Spread your knees wide and get in a knee position.
- Now, sit back on your heels, extend your arms forward, and lower your chest to the floor.
- Rest your forehead on the mat, breathe deeply, and relax into the stretch.
- Hold for 30 seconds to 1 minute and breathe deeply.
4. Baddha Konasana (Bound Angle Pose)
It is also recognized as the butterfly pose, useful for opening the hips and groin muscles. It helps with improving hip and knee joint mobility and flexibility in the lower body.
How to do baddha konasana?
- Sit on the floor and extend your legs straight
- Bend your knees, bringing the soles of your feet together
- Now let your knees drop toward the floor.
- Hold your feet with your hands, and sit up tall.
- Breathe deeply, gently pressing your knees toward the floor for a deeper stretch.
- Hold for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Repeat
5. Setu Bandhasana (bridge pose)
It’s a useful yoga pose for both front and back muscles. This pose helps to relieve tension in the lower back and hips and is beneficial for knee and hip joint pain.
How to do setu bandhasana?
- Lie on your back with bent knees and feet flat on the floor
- Keep your hip-width apart.
- Press your feet into the floor and engage your glutes to lift your hips toward the ceiling.
- Keep your shoulders and head on the mat
- Clasp your hands beneath your back
- Hold for several breaths, then slowly lower your hips back to the floor.
Conclusion
The combined effect of Yoga and Ayurveda can help you get relief from your joint pain. It’s not all about treating the pain but also ensuring that you don’t get to experience it again. For that, Ayurveda offers a natural solution through dietary modifications, stress management techniques, therapeutic oils like Dhurandar oil, and yoga asanas. Incorporate this into your routine to experience its results. By adopting this integrated approach, you can expect greater flexibility, reduced pain, and improved quality of life.
