YOGA AND ARTHRITIS: A REVIEW

YOGA AND ARTHRITIS: A REVIEW
Dr. Manoj Dash, BHMS, DYT,Ph.D.

Yoga is an ancient Indian science and way of life, which influences the functioning of the brain and the rest of the body. Several studies have shown that the practice of yoga has a definite role in the promotion of positive health, including mental health, characterized by improved cardio-respiratory efficiency, autonomic responses to stressors, sleep, muscular endurance, and `higher brain functions. With an increase in the incidence of stress-related ailments, related to the rapid pace of life today, yoga has been evaluated as a treatment for such disorders in several controlled trials. The disorders, which were most likely to respond to yoga, with reduced symptoms and need for medication, were bronchial asthma, non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus, anxiety neurosis, and rheumatoid arthritis. THE CONCEPT OF HEALTH According to the World Health Organization (WHO) the state of health is defined as a state of complete physical, mental, social and spiritual well being and not merely an absence of disease or infirmity. It is clear from this definition that health and ill-health are not two discrete entities as commonly understood but health should be conceived as a continuous function indicating the state of well being.The ancient Indian science, Yoga, has its origin in the Sankhya philosophy of Indian culture, which is about 8000 years old (Nagarathna, 2001). Yoga includes a wide range of techniques (e.g., physical postures, regulated breathing, cleansing techniques, meditation, philosophical principles, and devotional sessions, surrendering to the Supreme). These techniques bring about a calm and balanced state of mind, and are expected to help the spiritual evolution of the individual. However, yoga has more pragmatic applications in medicine. In order to understand these, it is important to know the concepts of health and disease in Yoga texts. According to yoga, man is in perfect health and homeostasis at his subtle levels of existence. All diseases are classified as (i) stress-related (adhija) and (ii) not stress related, e.g., injuries (anadhija) (Vasudeva, 1937). Yoga has been considered especially useful in the management of stress related disorders by getting mastery over the excessive speed of the mind. The technique to reducing the rate of flow of thoughts with deep internal awareness is yoga. This review will describe the therapeutic applications of yoga in the management of arthritis. Physical activity is an essential part of the effective treatment of osteoarthritis (OA) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA), according to treatment guidelines published by the American College of Rheumatology (Hochberg, 1995; Newsome, 2002). In persons with arthritis, exercise is safe and does not exacerbate pain or worsen disease (Ettinger,1997; Minor,1999; O’Grady,2000;Bearne,2002). In fact, exercise may play a key role in promoting joint health (Forrest,1994) , since those who do not exercise often suffer more joint discomfort than those who do (Nordemar,1981). However, regular physical activity is especially important for people with arthritis, who often have decreased muscle strength, physical energy, and endurance (Lyngberg,1988). The psychological benefits of exercise such as stress reduction, fewer depressive symptoms, improved coping and well-being and enhanced immune functioning (Taylor,1985;Scully,1998;Fox,1999 Paluska,2000) also contribute to greater overall health.Scientific studies on yoga Yoga has been used in the management of a wide range of diverse ailments. While there is a great deal of anecdotal evidence of the benefits of yoga, to date only a handful of scientific studies have been conducted on persons with OA and RA (though several more are currently underway). The study conducted in England demonstrated that hand grip strength significantly improved following yoga in rheumatoid arthritis patients (Haslock,1994). It was subsequently proven that yoga resulted in similar benefits in rheumatoid arthritis patients in an Indian population (Dash, 2001). Studies in osteoarthritis of the hands and carpal tunnel syndrome show greater improvement in pain during activity, tenderness and finger range of motion (Garfinkel, 1994). These above studies have shown promising results with some improvement in joint health, physical functioning, and mental/emotional well-being. Perhaps most importantly, yoga has an important positive effect on quality of life. People with arthritis may also enjoy yoga more than traditional forms of exercise, and exercise enjoyment is an important predictor of adherence(Ryan,1997;Trost,2003).This is particularly important considering that, on average, 50% of sedentary individuals will drop out of exercise within 6 months (Dishman,1990).In summary, yoga can be a meaningful and enjoyable alternative to traditional forms of exercise such as aerobics or aquatic exercise with important health benefits. Yoga can play an important role in reducing stress and frustration that results from pain and disability, and increasing positive feelings and wellbeing. Drug treatments for OA and RA have improved markedly in the last few years. Despite this, arthritis cannot be cured, and even the best medications and medical care can only help a little. There is a great need for additional activities patients can do to reduce pain, disability, and take control of the overall impact arthritis may have on their lives. Thus, the evidence suggests that, when combined with a program of good medical care, yoga may provide important additional physical and psychological health benefits for arthritis patients. Finally, it has to be emphasized that while yoga has important therapeutic benefits, the practice of yoga is very important in the promotion of positive health and human potential in body, mind, and spirit (Scott, 1999).References:1.Nagarathna R. Yoga in medicine. API Text book of medicine (6th ed), 2001. 2.Vasudeva Sharma PL. Laghu yoga vasistha (in Sanskriit); Nirnaya sagar prakashan, Bombay 1937,P 684.3.Hochberg MC, Altman RD, Brandt KD, Clark BM, Dieppe PA, Griffin MR et al. Guidelines for the medical management of osteoarthritis. Part II. Osteoarthritis of the knee.American College of Rheumatology. Arthritis Rheum 1995; 38(11):1541-1546.4.Newsome G. Guidelines for the management of rheumatoid arthritis: 2002 update. J Am Acad Nurse Pract 2002; 14(10):432-437.5.Minor MA. Exercise in the treatment of osteoarthritis. Rheum Dis Clin North Am 1999; 25(2):397-415, viii.6.Bearne LM, Scott DL, Hurley MV. Exercise can reverse quadriceps sensorimotor dysfunction that is associated with rheumatoid arthritis without exacerbating disease activity. Rheumatology (Oxford) 2002; 41(2):157-166.7.O’Grady M, Fletcher J, Ortiz S. Therapeutic and physical fitness exercise prescription for older adults with joint disease: an evidence-based approach. Rheum Dis Clin North Am 2000; 26(3):617-646.8.Ettinger WH, Jr., Burns R, Messier SP, Applegate W, Rejeski WJ, Morgan T et al. A randomized trial comparing aerobic exercise and resistance exercise with a health education program in older adults with knee osteoarthritis. The Fitness Arthritis and Seniors Trial (FAST). JAMA 1997; 277(1):25-31.9.Forrest G, Rynes RI. Exercise for rheumatoid arthritis. Contemp Intern Med 1994; 6(11):23-28.10.Nordemar R, Ekblom B. [Effects of long-term physical therapy in rheumatoid arthritis]. Lakartidningen 1981; 78(15):1561-1564.11.Lyngberg K, Danneskiold-Samsoe B, Halskov O. The effect of physical training on patients with rheumatoid arthritis: changes in disease activity, muscle strength and aerobic capacity. A clinically controlled minimized cross-over study. Clin Exp Rheumatol 1988; 6(3):253-260.12.Paluska SA, Schwenk TL. Physical activity and mental health: current concepts. Sports Med 2000; 29(3):167-180.13.Fox KR. The influence of physical activity on mental well-being. Public Health Nutr 1999; 2(3A):411-418.14.Scully D, Kremer J, Meade MM, Graham R, Dudgeon K. Physical exercise and psychological well being: a critical review. Br J Sports Med 1998; 32(2):111-120.15.Taylor CB, Sallis JF, Needle R. The relation of physical activity and exercise to mental health. Public Health Rep 1985; 100(2):195-202.16.Haslock I, Monro R, Nagarathna R, Nagendra HR, Raghuram NV. Measuring the effects of yoga in rheumatoid arthritis. Br J Rheumatol 1994; 33(8):787-788.17.Dash M, Telles S. Improvement in hand grip strength in normal volunteers and rheumatoid arthritis patients following yoga training. Indian J Physiol Pharmacol 2001; 45(3):355-360.18.Garfinkel MS, Schumacher HR, Jr., Husain A, Levy M, Reshetar RA. Evaluation of a yoga based regimen for treatment of osteoarthritis of the hands. J Rheumatol 1994; 21(12):2341-2343.19.OConnor D, Marshall S, & Massy-Westropp N. Non-surgical treatment (other than steroid injection) for carpel tunnel syndrome. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2003; (1): CD003219.20.Trost SG, Sallis JF, Pate RR, Freedson PS, Taylor WC, Dowda M. Evaluating a model of parental influence on youth physical activity. Am J Prev Med 2003; 25(4):277-282.21.Ryan RM, Frederick CM, Lepes D, Rubio N, Sheldon KM. Intrinsic motivation and exercise adherence. International Journal of Sports Psychology 1997; 28(4):335-354.22.Dishman R. Determinants of participation in physical activity. In: Bouchard C, Shepard R, Stephens T, Sutton J, McPherson B, editors. Exercise, Fitness, and Health. Champaign : Human Kinetics, 1990: 75-102.23.Scott AH. Wellness works: community service health promotion groups led by occupational therapy students. Am J Occup Ther. 1999; 53(6): 566-74. About the Author
I am a Doctor, doing my Ph.D.in Yoga. My topic of interest is to conduct Yoga Retreat, take class for Yoga Teacher and Medical professionals for in depth Research findings, and also Interest to conduct research in various field of yoga, both experimental and theoretical. I have been Traveling to all EUROPIAN countries.My contact: [email protected] web page:http://www.geocities.com/manojrieneke/Research.html

Arthritis

Arthritis
Djehuty

Arthritis by Djehuty Ma’at-Ra

The first Western disease I was ever familiar with as a little
boy was arthritis. My beloved paternal grandmother, Bertha
Cooper, suffered from this pathology for many years. She had it
very bad in her wrists and joints. I remember her asking me if I
would go to the corner liquor store on the corner of 101st
Street and Avalon Boulevard in Watts, California, and buy her
some Ben Gay, a white pharmaceutical anti-inflammatory rubbing
cream. She would rub Ben Gay on her wrists and joints and her
tendons as well.

As a little boy, I didn’t understand disease. I didn’t know how
my grandmother developed arthritis. All I knew is that she had
it (and claimed it too).

However, when the Universe bestowed its Akashic Records of
health knowledge upon me in the late 1990s, I finally understood
why Grandma Sis (Bertha) developed and suffered from arthritis.
You see, my grandmother was originally from the South,
Mississippi to be exact. The ideal dinner was “soul food.” My
grandmother was an excellent cook and I never tasted any food
back in my deaf, dumb, and blind days and years that tasted
better than my paternal grandmother’s food/cooking. However,
while this so-called food, soul food, tasted good, I now
understand that taste is not the criterion or measuring stick
for what is healthy or nutritional. It was Grandma’s good
tasting soul food that did her in with arthritis and tendonitis.
Yes, all that cornbread, collard and mustard greens, salt pork,
candied yams, fried chicken, liver, catfish, pork chops, rock
Cornish hen, neck bones, ham, white rice, etc. eventually did
her (and the rest of my family members) in. Not to mention
eating all that white, refined Webber’s and Wonder bread, flap
jacks (pancakes), syrup and biscuits, bacon, sausages, jelly
cake, jelly sandwiches, saltine crackers, Vienna sausages,
potted meat, Spam, hog’s head cheese, liverwurst, etc. And what
about all that hot cocoa, coffee (laced with white sugar and
dairy cream), butter milk, pet milk, Kool-Aid, and soda pop that
she drunk?

She didn’t smoke cigarettes like her five sons, but she would
roll up her own smokes with Prince Albert brand tobacco and Zig
Zag paper. My childhood friends thought my grandmother smoked
marijuana. It was a little embarrassing until they found out
what it was she was really smoking.

I mentioned all of the above to let you all know that my
grandmother’s arthritis was caused by what she ate and drank on
a daily basis through ignorance, tradition, and habit.

All that meat converted into uric acid in my grandmother’s
joints and ligaments. The starches broke down into carbonic acid
and also made its way into her joints. And so did the lactic
acid from the brake down of the dairy products she consumed.

The smoking also created an over acid condition in my
grandmother as well. She also had bouts with gout, which is
nothing but arthritis in the ankle area.

You see, arthritis is a condition of inflammation of the joints.
That’s all it is. The Latin word “Arth” means “joints,” and the
English suffix, “it is” means “inflammation.” What is
inflammation? A burning! What causes this burning or
inflammation? ACID!!! Plain and simple!

Grandma Sis was lucky, eventually dying from degeneracy (that
doctors call natural death). However, her sons (and
daughter-in-laws, nephews, nieces, and grandchildren) were not
so lucky, dying from the insidious cancer, including my father
from lung cancer in 1994 and my mother from pancreatic cancer in
1999.

My family could not, would not, and to this very day, still will
not believe that what they put into their mouths cause their
pathologies and eventually kills them. It was easy to write me
off when I was a Muslim and member of the Nation of Islam in the
early 1990s, simply saying “that boy is mad at white folks and
the world!” But today as a Naturist, what’s their excuse?
Nothing but ignorance and traditional paralysis! Soul food is a
tradition, Djehuty! Yes, a tradition that leads to an early
grave!

One of the greatest contributors of arthritis is collard and
mustard greens. Sorry Black folks, Negroes, and soul food
lovers! But this is true! Greens are laced with “oxalic” acid
and this oxalic acid is greatly produced when you cook the
greens. This is true! And for you rat feces-laced chocolate
lovers out there, your precious chocolate also contains oxalic
acid.

Now, I don’t want you thinking soul food is the cause of
arthritis, because a lot of white folks, Mexicans/Latinos, and
Asians also suffer from arthritis. Like soul food, the Standard
American Diet will also cause arthritis. Arthritis is an
American disease!

If you understand arthritis, you should understand tendonitis
and gout. They are acidic fluid build up problems in the joints
that cause inflammation (pain).

Most modern day suffers of arthritis (and tendonitis and gout)
are fighting the symptoms of these inflammatory diseases with
pharmaceutical grade drugs. Even though God instructed Bible
believers to heal themselves with herbs (Revelations 22:2,
Ezekiel 47:12, and Pslams 104:14), in their strange obedience to
God, they take the enemy’s pharmaceutical drugs that prolong the
arthritis. Why and how? Because pharmaceutical grade drugs,
though made from alkaloids, eventually break down into ACID
(especially ascetic acid, which eats your red blood cells up) in
the body, and acid produces inflammation, so how intelligent is
it to take something to target the symptom which eventually
lengthens and worsen the initial condition?

Mother Nature has provided healing for arthritis and other
inflammatory diseases. To heal from arthritis, all one needs to
consume is certain herbs. Herbs that are anti-inflammatory in
nature are the best to heal from arthritis. These herbs include
Meadowsweet, Peppermint, Wintergreen, Birch, White and Black
Willow Bark and Balm of Gilead.

However, other certain herbs work synergistically with the herbs
supra. Personally, no healing from arthritis can take place
efficiently without the following herbs: Devil’s Claw, Boswellia
(Frankincense), Uva Ursi, Mullein leaves, Saffron, Cayenne
pepper, Feverfew, and Guaiac wood.

Devil’s Claw, Boswellia, Uva Ursi, and Mullein are the paramount
arthritis herbs. They greatly counteract mucus, which is the
byproduct of acid, which causes inflammation.

Organic sulfur, commonly called MSM Sulfur, is also great in
healing arthritis. So is Noni juice!

You can make your own healing salve as well from a base butter
or oil such as shea or cocoa butter, coconut, olive, or almond
oil (or any other good oil) and add in a few drops (10-15 drops)
of the following essential oils: Peppermint, Clove, Wintergreen,
Eucalyptus, Birch, and/or Spearmint.

You can rub this salve directly on your joints or other problems
area. It is very soothing and healing.

And of course, as an herbalist, I have formulated my own Joint
Formula that consists of all the herbs mentioned above that is a
powerful little formula that works wonders for me when my wrists
start to hurt from excessive typing (typing up all that legal
pleading).

I can’t forget about magnet therapy as well for arthritis.
Magnets make a problem or injured area alkaline and also
enhances circulation to the problem area so that healing can
begin.

My good friend and brother, Mark Lomax, a musician, healed
himself from serious bouts of gout, another acid condition. It’s
been a few years now since he had gout. What did he do? First,
he detoxified his body on our Full Body Detox. Then, he did a
daily regimen of our Electric Greens Cell Food (pure
alkalinity), Joints Formula and Black Cherry Juice Concentrate.
You wouldn’t recognize this brother if you knew him 3 years ago.
He also lost more than 70 lbs on these herbs. This man is a
walking example of healing!

I should also mention the importance of pineapple enzymes called
Bromelain for the healing of arthritis and other acid
conditions. Bromelain or pineapple enzymes are anti-inflammatory
in nature and effect and therefore provide healing for
arthritis. They taste just like candy and are chewable and you
can chew as much as you like, although 3-6 tablets after dinner
ought to get the job done. You can find Bromelain at most good
health food stores.

Soaking inflamed body parts in hot water and essential oils of
Peppermint and Eucalyptus is also beneficial for arthritis.

But most importantly in fighting arthritis is modified diet. Cut
out or cut down on meat and dairy products. These are two of the
biggest culprits in causing arthritis. A vegetable cocktail
consisting of celery, parsley, apple and/or carrot (for
sweetness and base) 3-4 times weekly will greatly remove acid
buildup in the joints. By all means, avoid all acidic beverages
(beer, soda pop, milk, orange juice, wine, coffee, etc.).

Man, life is so wonderful when you know how to heal and prevent
disease. The understanding of diseases is just as important.
Sometimes I’m full of grief and sorrow from my knowledge and
knowing that people suffer from a lack of knowledge (and
insanity too). See Ecclesiastes 1:18 and Hosea 4:6

However, the children of the future, including my son, Asim, and
daughter, Layla, and other Conscious Minds offspring – Nadya,
Najee, Elijah, Asar, Sunshine and the newest edition from Melia
and Obea, and the others (out here on the West Coast in Los
Angeles) will all benefit from this profound knowledge of proper
diet as well as from my suffering and grief, as well as their
parents. I’m also quite sure that many children around the
nation will also benefit from their parents’ reading and
applying this health information and knowledge that is freely
distributed.

As much as I loved soul food and my relative’s cooking back in
my death (Negro) days, you couldn’t put a gun to my head and
compel me to eat a piece of chicken or pork today, and I mean
that! I love myself too much to harm my temple of God. My
children are beautiful (and highly astute and precocious)
because of what their parents ate before and while conceiving
them. You can do it too!

Make the change people! Taste is not the criterion for what is
healthy. Nutritional content is!

Peace and love, readership!

This article was compliments of www.DHERBS.com and Djehuty
Ma’at-Ra, the People’s Herbalist!

MSM Sulfur-
http://www.dherbs.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=38&products_
id=73

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