Which Ayurvedic oil is best for knee / joint pain ?

Many people try to find that one Ayurvedic or allopathy oil or gel which will make all joint pains go away. A lot of us and our relatives want something that can cure pain by just applying something. Obviously, why take medicines if you can get rid of pain by just applying something ? We love ayurveda. It’s our (Indian) invention and everybody believes it has no side effects. Also, everybody wants the best. Hence, everyone wants an answer to above question. Let’s understand how these oils / cream work.

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What do these ayurvedic oils / cream contain ? What are effects of the herbs in these oils ?

Every ayurvedic oil/ cream in the market has at least few basic ingredients which make that oil. They will at least have one or more of various combinations of following in the oil with different effects.

• Nilgiri or Eucalyptus oil – produces that feeling of warmth sensation
• Poodina phool / flower of mint plant /menthol – very strong, produces quite strong pricking sensation with warmth
• Oil of wintergreen / methy salicylate /gultharia (Gandapura) – Methysalicylate is what forms Aspirin / Disprin. Oil of wintergreen (plant) has methysalicylate. It has painkiller and fever decreasing effect.
• Nirgundi extract / Arakara oil / Til oil / Aloevera / Linseed oil/ Camphor

These contents may give warmth, greasy effect so that it can be rubbed easily, may give nice smell, relieve skin irritation or other soothing effect.

Many ayurvedic oils contain many other herbs. But most will contain at least 2 or 3 of above herbs / contents.

Most ayurvedic or herbal oil contain two or three common things like methysalicylate or oil of wintergreen, euclayptus or nilgiri oil, menthol / pepermint oil or pudina ka phool etc. Most of these oils relieve pain by producing warmth. The herbal painkiller (oil of wintergreen) and massaging action helps to relieve pain and decrease inflammation.They cannot usually cure or reverse any arthritis. They just give temporary relief. If the pain goes away completely, it mostly is due to one’s own body healing on its own.

How do these ayurvedic / herbal oils work for joint / knee pain ?

Many believe that these oils go into the joints and make bones strong, make cartilage grow, strengthen the joints and make joints young again. There is no good evidence to support that.

Most of these oils contain things which produce warm soothing and very strong prickling sensations. Also everybody likes to massage them on their joints. The herbal painkiller (oil of wintergreen) and massaging action helps to relieve pain. These things also help to decrease a bit of swelling or inflammation. The strong menthol in them produces an irritation in nerves. The irritating sensation confuses nerves which carry pain. In simple words (for an average person) they forget to carry pain signals to your brain. It’s like when one scratches for itching. When you have itching sensation, you scratch very hard. Scratching can actually cause injury to one’s skin. When one scratches they confuse the nerves and feel relieve as their itching sensation is relieved.

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Can ayurvedic oil massage cure osteoarthritis or knee pain ? Can it grow cartilage again ?

Osteoarthritis (OA) is one of the most common cause of knee / joint pains beyond 35-40 years of age. For some reason, most people will have their cartilage of joints thinning out with age. Some have it more, some have it less. We don’t know why some have more severe osteoarthritis than others. It’s partly genetic. But in any case, whatever oil/cream you use, your cartilage will not grow to new again. Most young people having knee pain is often mild and does not have major cause. In early phases osteoarthritis pain is quite intermittent and not continuous. This means that if your knee / muscular pain has disappeared, it most likely went away on its own. The body can heal itself for minor things.

There is no evidence to say any ayurvedic, allopathy or homeopathy oil or gel can actually grow back your knee cartilage. There is also no evidence to say that they can make your joints or muscles stronger.

What oil or gel should we use for joint pain ?

First make sure that it is not something major You need to show a arthritis doctor if at least one or two of these symptoms are present – if joint pain starts suddenly or within few days, it involves many joints, it starts at very young age, progresses very fast, associated with lot of stiffness in the mornings or at night, associated with lot of swelling, you are feeling generally ill etc. Consider showing a rheumatologist, who are physicians of arthritis.

The following are some commonly used things. Iodex, Moov ortho, Dr Ortho oil, Patanjali peedantak oil, Mahanarayan oil, Sandhi sudha oil, Volini herbal etc . As I said, more or less they all seem to have similar effects. There is no evidence to say one is better than another. However, many of these claim to have some magic ingredient making themselves better than others. There are some other fancy medicines / gels out there eg : Arnica gel, Flexiseq etc. Their makers claim that they work very well for muscle and joint pains, but there is no great evidence. Some of these might give more warmth (due to more menthol, eucalyptus, til oil etc) and have better pain relieving effect.

Except for some fancy products out there, most herbal joint pain oils contain at least 2-3 common ingredients which will give most of its benefits. Many claim to have special ingredients and say that it makes their product a better one. There is no evidence to support that.

Allopathy gels / creams for knee pain

There are some gels which contain anti-inflammatory allopathy medicines (eg : diclofenac). These are proven to decrease inflammation. They contain an oral painkiller like drug (mostly diclofenac). When you apply them on skin, some drug is absorbed into the joint and blood. Eg : Volini, Iodex ultra gel etc These gives a pain relieving and anti-inflammatory (decreases swelling) effect. These gels have been prove well to work in research studies. The dose absorbed when you apply them on skin is much lesser than when you take an oral tablet. There is also not much side effect. But if one uses these gels a lot, they can develop side effects like oral pain killers. So use these cautiously after consulting your doctors.

Some allopathy gels are very good at relieving pain and inflammation. They contain anti-inflammatory drugs at lower doses than tablets. Also they have minimal side effects. Always take your doctor’s advice while using them as they can sometimes interfere with other medicines and diseases.

Which Ayurvedic oil or gel one should not use for joint pains ?

Never use ones which claim the following

• That they can grow cartilage again
• Show ads with severe osteoarthritis patients walking normally after applying the oil (not possible)
• Bring a lot of old tv stars and everybody says that it works like magic
• Is very expensive – they will sell you saying that it can avoid surgery and save costs. Most mild knee /muscular pain goes away on its own. Severe knee / joint osteoarthritis (OA) is not cured by massaging oils. Surgery is usually required in severe joint OA, especially if somebody wants near complete pain relief and better quality of life.

What is knee pain in old age due to ? Is it osteoarthritis ? Get complete information on how to deal with osteoarthritis.

In conclusion, this is my advice in short to patients asking for gels / oils for joint pain

• If the joint pain / muscle pain is mild and / or one has disease for which they are already on oral medications – I tell to use any common ones or which are present at home.
• I advise to not buy expensive ayurveda oils / fancy creams claiming to do miracles – they are usually a waste of money.
• If there is a lot of pain and inflammation – I advice allopathic gels like Volini, iodex ultragel etc. , I tell them to take proper dose and will check if they have any kidney, blood pressure or gastric ulcer issues. I will ask them to report any side effects and check for same regularly.
• In rare cases, I might direct somebody to things like Arnica gel or Flexiseq which some people claim works wonderfully for them (especially if they have failed all routine things).

Disclaimer : The above brand names so used are for purposes of just explaining the common ones used and what they contain. We have no intention to malign or defame any of the above brands. As already told, they all seem to be effective equally with minor and personal variations. Also, there are many other brands besides one mentioned here. We have made it clear that there is no evidence or direct comparison to say one is better than another. We also don’t have any conflict of interest and we are not promoting any particular brand here.

Also please read the general disclaimer here