Q: Apparently, there is no cure for bursitis from allopathic medicine. There are only painkillers and anti-inflammatory products. Would there be a Tibetan medicine way of alleviating or curing this health problem? Please, advise. Antonio Marquez, Caracas, Venezuela |
A: In general, it is excess movement of the joints that causes bursitis. This is recognized in both allopathic and Tibetan medicine. For example, doing physical work and labor, especially involving your elbows causes degeneration in the bone flexibility, and leads to pain, inflammation in the joints and also sometimes frequent fevers. This disease may affect toes in some people and usually it will not bother you when it is new but gets more painful when it gets more chronic. There are different types of bursitis including rLung type, Tripa type, Badkan type and blood type of bursitis.
In Tibetan medicine, Bursitis is also considered very difficult to cure but there is a treatment that includes intake of herbal pills and following specific diet and behavior guidelines. Tibetan herbal pills like Lete 5, Samnor, Samkhyung, Poekar 10, Poekhyung, Senghen 25, Sengdhen 23, Khyunga and Agar 20 are very beneficial in treating Bursitis. To take these pills you need to consult directly a traditional Tibetan doctor or to send your complete case history to the doctor who will then be able to look into the root cause of the problem and its dominant type.
General dietary guidelines are to avoid sour foods like lime, lemon, pickles, orange juice and vinegar; raw foods like salad, and unripe fruits. Do not take cold baths and do not sit in a wet swimsuit for long time or in wet damp places like park benches or on the floor. Most important is not doing too much physical work like digging, chopping or cutting since that action will inflame your joints and bones. Also, take less potatoes, eggplant, tomatoes and bell pepper as the property of these food are cooling therefore apt to cause more sensitivity in your bones. Try to keep your body warm, drink more boiled warm water, soak your feet in hot water with little sea salt added to the water and eat more fresh and warm food.
- Dr. Namgyal