Bone and Joints Care in Old Age

Oh ! Nowadays I can not walk much, I can climb stairs easily, if I walk for 5 minutes I need to sit, my legs become heavy..We hear these complaints  very frequently in any senior citizens group. Their concern is so true. Every human always wishes for independence. I  don’t want to be dependent on anybody is everbody’s dream.

Especially as the age advances many people face the problems of knee joint pain, low back pain, other joints pain. They suffer because it pains and it hampers their activity as well. As it is, life changes a lot after a person retires from his job or he /she stops working from their business. There is  no routine of office. So most of your time is at your disposal. So this is the time when you think of doing many different things which you have not done so far. You want to go for morning walks, you want to join a club, you want to travel and you want to go for a trek !!!

And then one day, you experience that bad pain in your knee joints. Your knees are so stiff! You can not move. If you stand, it takes some time to start walking.

Someone experiences a crucial pain in the back. Moving out of bed itself becomes very difficult. Some senior lady complaints that her fingers go so stiff in the morning that making a cup of tea for herself becomes a huge task !!

Then you understand, that my body is not working that fit and fine to take up my dreams of travel and trips ! This make you feel sad.

But what is that actually happens to your bones and joints? Why do they go on such a complaint mode? Do they restrict your life? How does it affect your health and mobility?…. so on..and so forth.There are so many questions.

Why bones and joints Pains?

 Our body is resting on the skeleton of bones and joints. These all bones are interlocked in such a way that they make our body flexible and moving. There are multiple joints due to interlocking of bones. On this basic skeleton there are multiple muscles which are attached to our bones. Also there are white thread like tendons which are the endings of our muscles which get attached to joints. Then there are multiple ligaments covering our joints. They keep our joints safe and movements flexible. So with this structure we are able to move.

Of course, when there is a structure it also needs support. So our bones and joints structure needs support too. This support comes from good nutrition. Calcium is one of the most important nutrition our bones need.

According to Ayurveda, this is Asthi dhatu. This asthi dhatu is covered with mamsa and medo dhatu which cover our muscles and ligaments. So this whole structure is a blend of Rakta, mamsa, meda,asthi and majja dhatu. These all together keep our bones and joints healthy.

Our body reflects what we eat. So when you are young, what you eat is absorbed to a large extent and supports your body. So good nutrition in young age, saves you from bone problems of old age.

What happens in the old age?

As the aging process starts, the level of nutrition varies. The bones start becoming weak. The joints strength starts depleting. The internal soft bones,cartilages start loosing their strength.So the strictly tight interlocking and support of joints starts going at a toss. So this all starts affecting the bones and joints.  

Why knee joints and back are affected most?

Our back is the main interlocking chain of bones which takes all load of the body. Our knee joints are the most strong joints but they take load of the whole body for years together !!! Naturally these 2 joints are prone for faster depletion. And then a person starts getting knee joint pain, difficulty in walking, difficulty in climbing…..etc.

So what is the solution?

We are what we eat. Nutrition is key to health. What we eat in young age will save us in old age.So our nutrition actually plays a very vital role. So it is better to be very very cautious about your diet. Even in old age, keep your nutrition very good.

What is a good and healthy food for joints?

The most important is eating right thing at right time. So always have a breakfast, a lunch and a dinner. A cup of tea can not replace your breakfast. Having a cup of milk in the morning gives strength to your joints.

Avoid eating stale food items at breakfast. It does not give any nutrition but just a filling. You may eat a healthy, simple breakfast like a freshly made chapati, or a porriadge made of shevai or a dish of upama etc.

Have a good simple lunch. Have a portion of daal compulsory. Add lots of cooked vegetables to your diet. Add drumsticks, Rajgira, Ragi in your diet.

Application of oil – Regularly apply seasum oil to both knee joints and back. It is good lubricant. Gives strength to the joints.

Supplements – Take natural supplement of Calcium. You get it from Ragi, drumsticks, eggs, milk etc. So use these in abundance.

Exercise — this is a must. Because there is pain you will not walk and because you do not  walk your joints go more stiff .This is a vicioius cycle. So try to do knee joint and other joints exercises daily. If possible try to walk for at least 30 minutes a day. So this will keep your joints flexible. Applying oil and taking a walk helps saves your joints. The most important is consistency. Doing all things everyday is important.This all together will help to have  healthy joints !