According to Ayurveda, an ancient medical science, Osteoarthritis a degenerative joint disease occurs due to aggravation of Vata, and is known as Sandhigata vata.

Vayana vata dosha, one of the five types of vata dosha (dosha of air and empty space) governs the entire body and mind movements, like blood flow, heart pulsation, breathing and the thoughts in mind. The vitation of this type of vata causes rheumatism. Osteo arthritis is essentially a vata disorder, with the involvment of pitha and kapha doshas.

Vata has a dry and light qualities and its vitiation leads to imbalance of kapha dosha, depleting the syniovial fluid, that provides cushion and lubrication to the joints. This depletion leads to osteoarthritis in which the cartilage in the joints wears away causing friction, pain and limited joint mobility and affects the large weight-bearing joints, like the hips and knees, also hands, feet, and spine.

Symptoms of this disease are edema, pain, tenderness, stiffness, pain on work etc. It also starts with ageing and the following factors contributes to the vitiation of vata dosha

• Consuming dry, cold or stale food, not regular in sleeping habits, suppressing natural urges.
• Getting exposed to asevere cold and dry weather.
• Excessive travel, leading a vata aggravating life style and undergoing mental trauma.
• Exerting oneself excessively on the joints or any accident which occurs in the joints.
• When the food we eat, is not digested properly it causes ama (toxins) which weakens the colon and it circulates through whole body and gets accumulated in the bones and joints.
• This toxins will block the body channels and inturn vitates vata dosha.

Sandhigata vata or osteoarthritis is the one among 80 vata diseases described in ayurvedic classical texts like Charak samhita and Ashtanga hridaya.