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Ayurvedic Therapy for Osteoarthritis of the Knee

Osteoarthritis is a very common, painful medical condition in which the cartilage of the joints begins to wear away. The condition worsens over time and there currently is no cure. In standard medicine, osteoarthritis of the knee is usually treated with an assortment of medications that come with unpleasant side effects, leading some people to look for alternate ways to deal with the pain and inflammation. The traditional art of Ayurvedic therapy may be an option to consider.

  1. Ayurvedic Medicine

    • Ayurveda is a complete medical system that dates back thousands of years; it is one of the oldest traditional medical systems in the world, originating in India. Ayurvedic medicine is based on a combination of herbs, massage, diet and yoga to achieve good health and fight off illness. Ayurveda believes the body, spirit and mind must be treated holistically and that each person has her own unique "code," much like the principle of DNA. This means that one person with osteoarthritis may be prescribed different treatments than another person with the exact same condition.

      Although Ayurvedic treatments are based on an individual's need, there are some common therapies that are being used with success. For the optimal results in treating your osteoarthritis of the knee, find a trained practitioner who can guide you in finding the best Ayurvedic therapy for your individual needs.

    Boswellia

    • Boswellia serrata is a tree also known as Indian frankincense. Boswellia has been used for hundreds of years as an Ayurvedic therapy for osteoarthritis with good results. In an article published in the May/June 1991 "Journal of Ethnopharmacology," researchers from the Interdisciplinary School of Ayurvedic Medicine at the University of Puna, Boswellia used along with other herbs and minerals produced a decrease in pain, stiffness and increased knee mobility in osteoarthritis patients. The typical dosage is 300 to 400mg taken three times daily.

    Guggul

    • Guggul comes from a flowering herb plant called Commiphora mukul, one of the most common herbal extracts used in Ayurvedic therapy for osteoarthritis. According to a study by the Southern California University of Health Sciences that was published in the May/June 2003 issue of the journal "Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine," 500mg of a guggul supplement given three times a day significantly improved pain and mobility. No serious adverse affects were reported in the study.

    Yoga

    • The practice of yoga is a primary component of Ayurvedic medicine and has shown value as a complementary therapy for osteoarthritis. The Division of Rheumatology of the University of Pennsylvania's School of Medicine conducted a study (published in the August 2005 "Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine") that demonstrated that yoga is a viable therapy for osteoarthritis of the knee, with a substantial drop in pain in the subjects of the study, which included an eight-week course of Iyengar yoga instruction.

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