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Ayurveda Can Effectively Treat Osteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis is a degenerative disease that affects weight-bearing joints like the knees, hips, arms and feet. It is characterized by stiff joints, pain and restricted movement. Conventional medications relieve pain but have adverse effects. This has led to research for an alternative that is safe and free from side effects.
A study by Siba Raichaudhary of the University of California, Davis published in the BioMed Central’s open access journal ‘Arthritis Research and Therapy’ used an extract of ‘Indian Frankincense’ herb called Boswallia serrata that was enriched with 30% AKBA (300-acetyl-11-keto-beta-boswellic acid) and is an active ingredient from the plant. AKBA has anti-inflammatory properties and is effective in treating osteoarthritis of the knees. Patients treated with this herbal remedy showed significant improvement in just one week’s time. B Serrata has been used for over a thousand years in the Indian system of medicine called Ayurveda.
This was the first study of its kind that proved B Serrata could effectively treat osteoarthritis. While conventional medicine frowns on the use of metals like mercury etc., found in Ayurvedic remedies, it has still not come up with effective treatment for certain diseases, like arthritis and osteoarthritis, which Ayurveda has successfully treated. So to discard Ayurveda as a form of treatment is like throwing the baby out with the bath water. What is the need of the hour is clinical research for remedies to treat stubborn ailments without adverse side effects. It is wise to consider the ancient origins of Ayurveda and the success it gained through history that has prevented this holistic therapy from being buried in obscurity. Probably being an ancient form of healing it did not have sufficient research to back it up like conventional allopathic medicine, which has taken over the scene supported by research for substantiation and validity.
