Orthiva — a personalised programme for osteoarthritis
Physician-led Ayurvedic care for osteoarthritis — the gradual wear of the joint that brings pain and stiffness. It begins with an Orthiva Assessment to understand your joints, then a programme built around restoring movement.
16,000+ patients · 4.9 Google · 18 years of clinical practice · Sector 51, Gurgaon
Understanding osteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis is the most common form of arthritis — often called the "wear-and-tear" type. Over years, the smooth cartilage that cushions the ends of the bones gradually thins, so the joint moves less smoothly and can ache, stiffen and swell. It most often affects the knees, hips, hands and spine. Unlike rheumatoid arthritis, it is not an autoimmune disease — it is a change in the joint itself — and unlike gout, it is not caused by uric-acid crystals.
Common symptoms
Osteoarthritis usually builds up slowly, and the symptoms tend to track how much you use the joint. Most people notice a mix of these.
Who it affects
Osteoarthritis becomes more common with age, but it is not inevitable and it can be managed. It tends to affect:
Why it happens
A healthy joint glides on smooth cartilage, supported by strong muscles. Osteoarthritis reflects a gradual change in that system — and understanding where it has changed guides how to help.
The cartilage cushioning the joint gradually wears and thins, so the bone surfaces move less smoothly — the central change in osteoarthritis.
Extra weight and weak supporting muscles put more force through the joint, which adds to the wear and the pain.
Osteoarthritis involves ongoing, low-level inflammation in the joint, which contributes to the pain, stiffness and swelling.
The options
There are several ways to approach osteoarthritis. Each has a role, and the right mix depends on your joint. Orthiva is one path — and part of the Assessment is helping you understand where it fits alongside the others.
Weight management, joint-friendly activity and targeted strengthening reduce load and pain. These help many people and are a foundation of almost any plan.
Pain-relieving and anti-inflammatory medication can settle symptoms, especially during a flare. They are useful for relief, and are prescribed and monitored by your doctor.
Structured exercise and manual therapy build the support around the joint and improve movement. Physiotherapy is valuable and often works well alongside other care.
For an advanced, badly damaged joint, replacement surgery can restore function and is the right choice in some cases. Because it is a major step, many people prefer to explore non-surgical care first — and your doctor will advise honestly.
A physician-led Ayurvedic programme that begins by understanding your joint, then combines classical therapy, medicines and lifestyle guidance to reduce pain and restore movement — personalised to your case, and recommended only after an assessment.
How we approach treatment
A few principles guide how chronic joint and spine conditions are approached — general ideas, not a specific plan. Your own plan is always decided after an assessment.
Chronic pain rarely has a single cause. Structure, inflammation, muscle support, load and lifestyle often act together — so care usually addresses several at once.
For most chronic conditions, the right guided movement helps more than prolonged rest. What is right, and when, is judged for your case.
Improvement tends to come in stages — settling symptoms, rebuilding strength and range, then protecting the gains. It is gradual, not immediate.
Daily load, activity, weight, sleep and diet all affect a joint or spine. Small, sustainable changes often make a real difference over time.
There is no one-size-fits-all plan. What helps you depends on your cause, severity and goals — which is exactly why the assessment comes first.
Why Orthiva
Orthiva is not against any other form of care. It simply starts in a different place — with the cause of your pain, not just the pain itself.
Every programme begins with an Orthiva Assessment that looks for what is actually driving your pain — not just where it hurts.
You are assessed and treated by our qualified Ayurveda doctors, who examine you, read your reports and stay with your case.
Nothing is a fixed package. What your programme includes is decided for your condition, your history and your goals.
For many chronic joint and spine conditions, a structured programme can improve pain and movement without surgery.
Classical Ayurvedic therapy, chosen with an eye on the published clinical research and measured against recognised scores.
Progress is reviewed through the programme, and the plan is adjusted to how your body responds.
Assessment first
The same osteoarthritis can have very different causes. So Orthiva never starts with a treatment — it starts with understanding. A programme is recommended only after a physician-led assessment of what is driving your pain.
By the end of your assessment you will understand:
A clear explanation of what is driving your pain.
The factors — physical and lifestyle — behind the problem.
An honest view of whether this is the right path for your case.
A grounded picture of what recovery could involve — no over-promising.
The Orthiva Assessment is the starting point — a structured, physician-led evaluation of your condition, and whether an Orthiva programme is right for you.
The recommended programme
If an Orthiva programme suits your case, your doctor recommends one after your assessment. For osteoarthritis, that is usually the:
A physician-led, personalised programme for chronic joint conditions — designed to reduce pain, ease stiffness and restore movement.
Knee pain · Osteoarthritis · Rheumatoid arthritis · Gout · Frozen shoulder
Programmes are recommended after your Orthiva Assessment, never chosen from a menu. What a programme includes is decided by your doctor, for your condition — there is no fixed package.
Evidence-informed care
The therapies and formulations used for osteoarthritis in an Orthiva programme have been studied in peer-reviewed clinical research — including randomized controlled trials — using the same measures modern medicine uses: the WOMAC osteoarthritis index and the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) for pain.
Clearing up confusion
Some widely-held beliefs about pain and recovery can point people the wrong way. Here is a calmer, more accurate view — general education, not advice for your specific case.
ActuallyNot always. Pain is a signal that something needs attention, but its intensity does not always match the amount of harm. Chronic pain can persist even when tissues are settling — which is why the cause matters more than the loudness of the alarm.
ActuallyFor many chronic joint and spine conditions, prolonged rest can stiffen and weaken the area. The right, guided movement is often part of recovery. When rest is genuinely needed, and for how long, is a clinical judgement — not a default.
ActuallyImaging is useful, but findings do not always match symptoms — many people with normal scans have pain, and many with changes on a scan have none. Scans inform the picture; they rarely tell the whole story on their own.
ActuallyChronic conditions usually improve gradually, in stages, not overnight. Anyone promising an instant fix is over-promising. Honest care sets realistic expectations and reviews progress over time.
ActuallyFor many chronic conditions, a structured, physician-led, non-surgical programme can meaningfully reduce pain and improve movement. Where surgery is the better option, honest care says so — the two are not the only choices.
Your Orthiva doctors
Your assessment and programme are led by our qualified Ayurveda physicians — Dr. Era Ayurveda operates as a team, so care never depends on a single doctor.
Founder & Senior Ayurvedic Physician
18 years of clinical practice
Senior Ayurvedic physician with 18 years of clinical practice, treating chronic joint and spine conditions through classical Ayurveda. Under her clinical direction, the team has treated over 16,000 patients — with a consistent focus on restoring movement and function.
Senior Ayurvedic Physician
8 years of practice · Kerala-trained
Ayurvedic physician with 8 years of clinical practice, including 6 years in Kerala — the home of classical Ayurveda. Trained at Government Ayurveda College, Kannur, with a clinical focus that includes joint and orthopaedic conditions.
An honest fit
Orthiva is built for chronic, ongoing conditions. It is not the right starting point for everyone — and we would rather say so, and point you toward the right care.
Explore more
An NIA-funded clinical study of Janu Basti — a localised, warm medicated-oil therapy — with classical formulations for knee osteoarthritis.
Learn more →A study comparing Janu Basti alone versus Janu Basti with an added warm herbal poultice (Upanaha) in knee osteoarthritis (Janu Sandhigata Vata).
Learn more →A five-year study tracking how the joint space and structure of the knee change as osteoarthritis progresses.
Learn more →A study measuring joint space and cartilage in healthy knees, giving a baseline for a well-functioning joint.
Learn more →Questions & Answers
Osteoarthritis is a long-term condition, and we do not claim to reverse it or regrow cartilage. What a structured, physician-led programme aims to do is reduce pain and stiffness, improve movement and limit the impact on your daily life. The Orthiva Assessment is where we give you an honest view of what is realistic for your joint.
Osteoarthritis is a gradual wearing of the joint cartilage, usually affecting one or a few joints and worsening with use. Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease in which the immune system attacks the joint lining, often affecting many joints symmetrically with prolonged morning stiffness. They are treated differently, which is why an accurate assessment matters.
Not necessarily. Many people manage osteoarthritis for years without surgery. Replacement is usually considered when a joint is badly damaged and other options have been explored. Bring any X-ray or MRI to your assessment for an honest view of your case.
Yes — extra weight increases the load through weight-bearing joints like the knees and hips, which adds to pain and wear. Weight management is one of the most effective things that helps, and it is part of the guidance in an Orthiva programme.
Yes. Orthiva is physician-led — you are assessed and treated by one of our doctors, who examines you, reviews your reports and explains what they find.
Yes. Please do not stop any prescribed medication on your own. Any change to your medication is a decision for you and your treating doctor.
No. Whether any particular therapy is appropriate is decided only after your assessment, and only if it suits your case. The assessment comes first; recommendations follow from it.
If you have an MRI, X-ray or recent blood reports, please bring them — they help our doctors understand your condition. If you do not, your doctor will advise whether any imaging is needed after examining you.
This page is educational and does not provide a diagnosis, a treatment plan, or medical advice for your individual case. It does not replace a consultation with a qualified doctor. A programme is only ever recommended after a physician-led Orthiva Assessment. Please do not stop or change any prescribed medication on your own, and seek prompt in-person care for any urgent symptom.
Book an Orthiva Assessment for a clear, physician-led picture of your joint — and whether an Orthiva programme is right for you.
Disclaimer: Treatments are doctor-prescribed and outcome-tracked. Results vary by individual. Any change to existing medication occurs only under doctor supervision.