Yoga Practice as a Natural Remedy in the Management of Arthritis

Yoga is very effective in maintaining healthy bones and joints and it helps improve symptoms such as stiffness. It makes you more relaxed and can reduce pain caused by stiffness around a joint. The practice of yoga also helps improve flexibility and functioning of joints and therefore reduces the risk of injury, especially if the patient takes part in contact sports.

Unsurprisingly, we are now seeing more and more “high level” athletes such as professional footballers engaging in yoga to reduce their injury rates and risks.

Aliona Salaru, who is the founder of Pure Flow Yoga, a qualified Ashtanga Vinyasa yoga teacher, and former sufferer of rheumatic arthritis, also advocates the benefits of yoga in reducing the symptoms of the condition.

She comments for my blog, “I started practising yoga over a decade ago when I was looking for natural ways to reduce the symptoms of my condition. My routine of daily yoga practice combined with a diet filled with healthy nutrition keeps my chronic arthritis at bay without requiring any medicine.

“Yoga practice is a safe weight bearing activity which stimulates the bones to retain calcium and become stronger. In yoga practice the blood circulates freely to all joints giving a supply of nutrients and oxygen to the joints, helping to strengthen and increase flexibility in the joints.”

Aliona comments on the impact of yoga in improving the physical symptoms of arthritis, “Gentle yoga, specific postures can decrease the swelling in the joints by improving the blood circulation. Yoga movements also increase the flow of synovial fluid to the joints, acting as a lubricant to ease the stiffness and pain.

“Regular yoga practice, combined with breathing techniques and meditation has been shown to ease the pain caused by arthritis, and should be used a complementary tool alongside traditional treatment to manage osteoarthritis.

The practice of yoga can also reduce inflammation without the risks of wear and tear that other activities might carry. Yoga acts like an internal massage for the joints, allowing energy to flow freely to all areas of the body, creating space, flexibility and ease.”

Simon Moyes is an internationally renowned orthopaedic surgeon and leader in the field of arthroscopic (keyhole) surgery. His Capital Orthopaedics team works from The Cromwell Hospital in London, with its state-of-the-art diagnostic and surgical equipment, and top sports medicine professionals.