Muscle Ache, Stiff Joints, and Backache

Muscle Ache, Stiff Joints, and Backache

Health is the most important wealth! I start with the Telugu adage captured by my ancestors "ఆరోగ్యము మహా భాగ్యము".  This statement holds a lot of truth – but sadly it comes into focus during bone-fracturing falls, memory loss, or other permanent impairment of the body. Usually I do not indulge in these health matters here in my blogs; over the years I must have written half a dozen articles spread over hundreds of other topics (blogs). But I come to this topic to share worthwhile inexpensive yet valuable practices (home remedies, they call it alternate therapy here in US); and  share the valuable sound practical knowledge acquired over many years and honed through trial and error.  One must care for the body, as it is the only veritable vehicle we have to advance in life. Some are lucky to walk upright with strong bones. Many fall prey to a sudden slip, hip fracture, or other serious internal injuries (head trauma, brain hemorrhage, etc.). A lot, in deed many falls can be prevented if we are utterly careful and watch our body’s internal balance. Certainly a good hearing (coupled with visual acuity) helps too (there are tiny weights in the inner ear). Even with the best care, diligence, and sound habits accidents do happen. That is life and we must accept it as part of our daily activity.

As the body advances in years it seems most of the muscle aches and stiff joint problems happen due to lack of warm-up exercise or movement. Added to this we have the effect of seasons; severe cold wintry mornings may make physical flexibility a bit hard in early in the day (morning times). During extreme hot summers too the body may experience dehydration leading to stiffness in calf muscles. Proper nutrition (with minerals and vitamins) and sufficient fluid intake (water, sugar free juice, buttermilk, coconut water, and fruits) will help a lot. Warming up exercises, yoga, or gentle stretching in the morning makes the body supple and strong. We do not need these things in the youthful days but we can learn one or two things watching the kitten or pet dogs. The four-legged (quadruped) animals do stretching while strutting around the house; invariably they gently stretch after a nap or long sleep.

Faith

We need faith in several activities of life. (భక్తిః కిం న కరోత్వహో వనచరో! భక్తావితం సాయతే) When a mother (parent) puts a honey-dipped finger in a baby’s mouth, the baby starts chewing the sweet syrup automatically. Let’s put aside all other explanations like instinct, evolution, or biology for a moment. Through such an act the mother can gently put medicine (cough syrup, antibiotic, etc.) into the baby; both mother and baby have trust in each other’s gestures. It will lead to better health outcome – though the baby does not know the details like medicine’s name, chemical formula, etc. 

For recovering from chronic knee pain or backache problems we really need such strong unshakable faith; faith in our physician, faith in Ayurvedic medicine, Yogic asanas, or a guru initiated japa (tapas). No progress can be made without faith or trust in our doctor or mentor. Doctor shopping or rapid changing of physicians may not lead to fast cure. In spiritual matters also many people keep changing gurus –many great preceptors often discourage such aimless roaming. A patient also benefits from the “placebo effect.”

My experience with a recent episode of ‘stiff back’ (severe backache) may provide some valuable tips. While gardening often I had to pick heavy pots for rearranging. One morning I hurt my back in such a routine harmless activity. I should have used proper leverage or tools. In most situations we can avoid lifting heavy weights. One can also seek help from others to move heavy pots, soil bags, etc. But such wisdom often dawns on us after a mishap! That’s why it is called hindsight or looking in the rearview mirror, sort of after-the-fact analysis.

Immediately after the sprain, I had to curtail my movements. It was pretty bad – getting from bed or bending to pick up things became almost impossible. Then I tried every trick (home remedy) in my book. I took long baths in hot water in tub with aromatic salts. The famed Federal Reserve Chairman (A. G.) used to spend four hours daily in hot water tub due to a severe back injury. When a crisis hits you, you have to throw everything at the problem; they say here (in America) you’ve to throw everything in sight including the kitchen sink! I did exactly like that to get rid of this horrible backache. Daily I used to oil massage followed by fomentation with wet towel. We have three Ayurvedic oils: Maha-Narayana Tailam, Dharasana Tel, and Puttur Tailam. I also used Dharasana Lep (Paste) three or four times. Of course there are over-the-counter pain medicines like Tylenol or Ibuprofen. I tried them too but very moderately, just one or two tablets per day. People who are on blood thinners and other medicines must be careful with these pain medications. 

Still the pain did not go away. I resorted to sleeping on the floor with a firm carpet. Sleeping on a hard wooden floor is also a good idea. Then I resorted to doing gentle Yoga (asanas). I rely on Iyengar’s book for advice on Yoga. Mostly I tried doing Paschimottana, Sarvanga, Bhujanga, and Dhanura-asana. Initially I lost the flexibility but gradually I was able to do these stretching poses; always I adhere to the firm dictum, “never push the limit forcibly”. Nowadays there are free Zoom sessions of Yoga on the Internet. I think it took about two weeks for complete recovery. Just to be on the safe side I did see my doctor. He suggested over the counter pain medication and some patience for full recovery. 

I dedicate this little write-up to my mother. She used to massage Karpura-Tailam for temporary relief from the chronic pain. We could have utilized the local Puttur Raju physical therapy for better long lasting results, alas. I wish I had better counsel and knowledge then. Mother did get the X-ray diagnosis and other modern medicine intervention; sadly it did not cure her ailment. This article is timely I think not the least due to a recent tragedy in the news. Copyright 2024 by the author