Shaky Joints
Recently I got to see the ravaging effects of damaged knee joints on people’s lives – a first hand close observation. Ideally this topic is best addressed by an eminent doctor like Dr. Ch. Vyaghreswarudu. But availing the services of a great humane physician – is often rare in life. Many patients suffer from this extremely painful, debilitating malady, and frequently their lives pay huge toll both financially and psychologically. A close relative privately lamented thus: “I wish there is some commonsensical help for knee ache. Often vast majority of people do not know where to go, what to do, and how to manage the situation”.
First a reality check. Money cannot always solve every medical problem, including non-working knee joints. Also, lack of money does not prevent anyone from enjoying reasonably good health (cf. perfect health. There is no such thing as perfect health. If one can accomplish most of, say eighty percent of daily tasks, then one is in excellent health.) One can throw loads of money at artificial knee joints, all types of gadgets – but even people with brand new gold plated prosthetic joint implants are not free of problems.
Prevention
Take charge, act with care before injury sets in permanently. Sitting on flat bottom (with a thin soft cushion) chair is preferable to mushy low level sofas. Why? Getting up is easier, it puts less force on delicate knee joints. Always, be gentle on stairs, getting up on steps near doorway. If possible, use external supports – like side railing (banister), door handle, or vertical wall. But, look out for accidents lurking in dark – waiting to happen. These are: slippery steps, snow and ice in winter, water soaked floor tiles, moss in bathrooms, soap and shampoo in bathtubs, a loose shaky side railing. In India, it is common to see concrete stairs, even winding ones, without any side support. That is a really criminally negligent design, a severe fall, a permanent disabling accident waiting to happen. Get a railing installed, if that is too expensive, get at least sturdy rope attached to the wall. It will give some support to hold on, while climbing stairs. If you feel a walking stick would help, go for it. Forget about false modesty, useless egoistic pride. If you cannot move, walk, you will not enjoy life. Not only that, once you become less active, a bit home bound, invariably you will gain body weight, soon you become a bit depressed. They are all inter-related, it needs no rocket science to figure out. Every doctor, the first thing (s)he will say to you, “Lose some weight”. There is some veritable (though awful to hear) truth in that advice.
At every juncture, every movement, like getting up, going to bathroom, getting in bed – always be conscious about being gentle on your delicate knee joints. Wherever possible, use your arms, body, to give a little support. Use all the muscles, gently, in a sort of concerted effort to move body. If the rest of body is strong, a slightly weak right (or left) knee is no big problem. But, do not, do not try to put extra burden on the remaining healthy knee. It can bear for awhile, a little bit, but soon you may damage the healthy joint too. Then what? You get double trouble.
Care
At the first sign, what can you do? If it is an injury, occurred during daily activity, get a tape (knee joint brace). Wrap it and treat it gently. You can remove the elastic tape in between (for bathing, sleep), continue to use it till the joint recovers fully. Some athletes use ice pack. I prefer hot massage. For simple problems, anything will do. Dab a little bit of Iodex ointment, and grab a towel dipped in boiling water. Do gentle hot presses on the red tender joint (fomenting). Do it twice, thrice a day. Usually, things improve within three days. Most knee joint problems brought by injury will disappear. Even regular massage with lukewarm ghee also gives good results. Ghee can be made at home from salt-free butter (derived from cow’s milk).
Injury is one thing, what about chronic joint pain brought by years of neglect and abuse? Then you up the ante a bit. We are not giving up yet. Now, you bring the bottle of Ayurvedic medicine, Narayana Tailam. Take a little bit (just a teaspoonful) into palm and apply on the knee joint. Massage it well, till it is almost gone visibly. Again foment the part with hot (sort of Turkish towel) thick towel. Be patient, after all the chronic pain has been brewing for years, it is not going to disappear overnight. Do it with discipline, with total devotion, and with absolute faith (this is important. Whether you call it biofeedback, a sort of placebo – that is all irrelevant to seriously ill patient. If a cost effective treatment yields relief or manages the pain and symptoms, that’s all that matters) for ten days. In most cases, things will improve. You can also use warm tub bath. If half an hour tub bath in warm water relieves joint pains, if you can use rest of day fruitfully – nothing like it. Go for it. You will feel totally rejuvenated, soon you get to enjoy life.
Still, not satisfied with progress. Ok, now go and take a trip to that reputed village, Putturu near Tirupati. There are lots of nurses and doctors, fully trained to treat only bone and joint problems. That is their specialty. Such hospitals are in Bangalore, Chennai and other places. They also sell Putturu Tailam for massage. It is available in some pharmacies all over in India.
Yogasana
Many of the diseases are not new really, people (including kings) in earlier times also suffered due to such chronic pains. That is why there are so many remedies in Ayurveda and other traditional systems for joint pains. And Patanjali, being such an advanced thinker, produced yoga for health. He, rightfully, had the correct insight, i.e., man cannot make progress in life (spiritually or materially) unless the body is fully “tuned”. For beginners, this writer suggests B K S Iyengar’s classic “Light on Yoga” or “The Complete Illustrated Book of Yoga” by Swami Vishnu Devananda. Knee joint is quite complex. The movement is not just confined to a single plane, there is lateral movement also. The old habits of sitting on floor cross-legged and eating and praying are almost gone in India. Perhaps, there are still some staunch diehards in villages who follow such practices. That cross-legged sitting posture is one of the best postures for knees. In fact, if as soon as you feel joint pain, try to do a few things. Stop sitting on couch. Try to sit on floor with cross-legged or straight stretched out feet. It is hard, it not easy. But who says recovering lost youth and flexibility has to be easy?
Asanas
Padmasana, Virasana, Dhanurasana, and Sarvangasana. The vertical standing asanas like Vrikshasana are also beneficial. The beginner, should strictly adhere to all the guidelines given in the books. Patience is needed. One masters yoga-asana with steady practice, slow movements, and proper breathing synchronization. The example of ‘slow tortoise’ is very appropriate in this context. No jerky movements, no undue force, and always listen carefully to the body’s signals (feedback). Even without costly paraphernalia (guru, expensive mat, costly classes in artificial glass covered air conditioned stuffy rooms), one can simply borrow (or buy a used dog-eared yoga book) and achieve remarkable progress. Before I forget, let me pay my humble debt of gratitude to Patanjali and all benevolent kind hearted yoga teachers. I also owe countless thanks to all traditional (Ayurveda, herbal, and other alternate systems of India) healers.
This (post) is no physician’s prescription. All the information is given with only the best intention, most of it has been found to be useful. In each case, the individual has to assess all available options, knowledge, treatments herself. Equally pertinent to note here, no, I mean no legal warranties are meant, either implicitly or explicitly. There are famous people who have strictly followed yoga, they retained walking till well into very old age, almost till the last day. I refrain here giving names. That is not the point of this article. This post is to educate and outline some inexpensive options for anyone rich or poor. In the sanatana dharma (old Indian thought), there is a saying: “All disease and suffering is due to past karma”. There is some nugget of truth in it. No, the saying does not try to pile up on the victim, blaming the victim, etc.
As in any progress to recovery, one can heal oneself from knee joint pains. It is because human body (and mind) is exceptionally great. It demands lots of optimism, patience, physical activity, and gentle touch. Extraordinary illnesses demand extraordinary attention, that much is fair in life. One also has to keep an open mind in these matters. Copyright by the author 2011