Knee remedies

July 13, 2000

I have no idea what's in "Mahaarayan Tail", but a

lot of Ayurvedic and other massage oils are

sesame-based. I've heard it said that sesame oil de-calcifies

soft tissues and is therefore good for stiff

joints. But I have a sixteen year history of knee injuries

and a variety of treatments, some of which have

worked well (astanga yoga, ayurvedic massage) and some

of which haven't (surgery, physiotherapy). As a

result I'm sceptical of anything I hear that isn't

either directly from somebody with a lot of practical

experience, or based on solid scientific/medical research.

For example, there is a lot of solid evidence that

glucosamine/chondroitin is good for osteoarthritis, which is caused by

chronic degeneration of cartilage. I'm trying it at the

moment on the basis that it can't possibly do any harm

and might help. But I have no idea if the kind of

yoga knee inuries we've been discussing here recently

are in any way similar to osteoarthritis. I suspect

not - but I'm not a doctor, a physiotherapist or an

experienced yoga teacher so please don't trust my opinion on

this. I don't mean to imply that I only trust

technological, western-style medicine -- I don't. And I don't

see any big risk in trying things like Mahaarayan

Tail or glucosamine based on self-diagosis and

hearsay. But the only advice I would really attach much

weight to would be from somebody - doctor, physio, yoga

teacher, masseur - who I know has a lot of experience with

this kind of problem, and who has seen me and my

injuries and limitations at first hand.

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