Arthritis pain in fingers

Yoga Discussion General Yoga
#1

Hi all,

I am new to this forum but have been practicing yoga off and on for 25 years. My problem is that I started developing arthritis in my finger joints about four years ago and the pain does affect my enjoyment of my yoga practice. I always feel a certain amount of pain when putting weight on my hands or clasping my fingers and if I need to use my fingertips, I try to use a block or a rolled towel under my hands. These workarounds are okay, but they do not eliminate the pain and they do not feel “right”. I am hoping to receive some feedback on treating arthritis pain finger joints.

Thank you all very much.

#2

Hello Greenter.

Welcome.

It is incredibly challenging to respond to such inquiries when I know nothing of the student posing the question. It places me in the position of offering rote instructions for a malady and that intimates that there is a one-size-fits-all approach. If I’ve learned anything from and about yoga there is no one approach that works universally for each person. However, onward we must go:-)

A therapeutic issue requires a therapeutic response. Students that have pain have the choice to work with skilled teachers to ameliorate that pain.

While that choice alone may not eliminate pain it is certainly a foundational approach to work toward it. Students can, through the support of a robust yoga practice, make changes in their lifestyle, nutrition, breathing, asana practice, meditation, and application of yoga philosophy in order to live more peacefully within their bodies.

There are specific protocols in yoga therapy for dealing with arthritis. Please consult the teacher you are working with to find out these protocols and incorporate them into your life. If your current teacher does not have anything sound to offer in this regard…perhaps find one that does.

gordon

#3

Hello Greenter,

A few words of encouragement: The system of yoga can be very helpful for treating arthritis (and not only arthritis of the finger joints). This is both my personal experience - from teaching a class of student with arthritis and fybromyalgia - as well as the opinion of yoga researchers. For example, Dr. Nagarathna and Dr. Nagendra have published a booklet on yoga for arthritis. They have done studies (albeit on a small scale) which show 50% improvement in symptoms and pain after only two weeks of their integrated practice.

I’m not afraid to give generic advice to someone practicing yoga for 25 years. Please avoid all poses that cause pain to your hands. The general formula for arthritis is to adress all of the kosha’s. Change your diet to a sattvic one, do the joint freeing series daily (pavanmuktasana) followed by relaxation in savasana, practice breathing (preparatory work like kapalabhati and three part breathing and alternate nostril breathing pranayama) and meditate. Of course it is always better to work with a skilled yoga therapist for a more personalized, more effective, and safer advice.

There is more information on this site, especially if you look up arthritis diet (by Indra Devi). I have not tried this myself, so I won’t be able to advise you here.

#4

I hope your able to manage your arthritis.