I grew up in a happy home, but when I visited my ancestral home, I saw my maternal grandmother was bedridden with pain, arthritis, and immoveable. She had to be fed, ablutions, changed, which my grandfather did cheerfully as a part of his daily chores. (circa the early 70s)

The following is a story and a usual product life cycle of a patient suffering from knee pain and the journey of Pain Management of my Mother Lalit Mohani Malhotra ( an athlete, the first woman athlete to chosen for the Asian Games from India, and master sportsperson)

First Call- Usually a Physician

Cut to mid 90’s I was upbeat; I had just got a dream job at Discovery Channel, I was travelling the world, money had started flowing in the well that was so dry, it started filling in.

My mother, who, like her mother, started complaining of knee pain in her knees while walking. She must have been barely 58 (she will be 83 soon). So I took her to a sensible physician in Patel Nagar. He prescribed some medicine, but we took it lightly.

Alternative Therapies

By then, our family had followed an alternative path of solace, freedom and prayers, the world of possibilities to deal with your own pain and karma, the path of Reiki. She quite honestly benefited from the healing sessions of the Grand Master (God Bless his soul), and it was still the late 90s.

Self -Management

Later in the mid-2000s, life was moving on, and so were our careers with their trials and tribulations. She became active again, managed a home, and complemented and contributed tremendously to bring up our daughter as we moved in our lives and careers. Her health and pain were secondary because the primary was my father, his heart ailment, surgeries, and doctor’s visits. She somehow was on her own with her pain and problems but kept a brave heart and never skipped a beat.

Ayurveda and Therapeutics

Later as the years moved on, I set up an appointment and massages for her with a Doctor at Kerala Ayurveda Massages; he and other doctors scared her that she would turn into a bundle ( visions of the life of her mother began to appear). Sometimes Doctors do more harm than good by using the fear appeal and scare the patients away. The psychological factor always played an important part. A swift athlete on crutches? she couldn’t bear the thought.

Read also: How Ayurveda Helped Mrs. Shikha Verma Defeat Urinary Tract Infection (UTI) Treatment

Neighborhood Conveniences

Then came the era of her managing with a polyclinic at a Charitable trust with regular meetings with an orthopedic doctor. Innumerable physiotherapy sessions, Neurobian injections, heat therapy, and wax therapy, she did it all.

Surgeon or Surgery Calls

Sessions attended by a very seasoned Ortho surgeon at a renowned hospital with vast experience with Knee replacement scared her more. He tried to motivate her by saying Zohra Sehgal, an eminent artist, and our neighbor had her knee replacements well in her 90s. Then, more visits to sports medicines doctors who wanted more money upfront.

Finally, we regularly started consulting an Ortho surgeon ( he is my childhood friend), she was under his treatment and guidance for so many years after more of managing the pain which was now, in the back, tailbone, and all through the night as a shooting sciatic pain. She dealt with it stoically. There is an old saying that a hammer can see only nails. Similarly, a surgeon (though he handled her beautifully administering injections in her knees, both knees twice or thrice, guided us beautifully), but a Surgeon can see only Surgery.

He eventually advised three surgeries, back, and both knees all one by one. We again ran away thinking that it’s nearly 2-3 years of her life managing and recuperating from the surgeries, daunting again.

Alternatives again

Finding alternatives again and solace in Nooga Beds and Acupuncture artists and even a Hakim in the bowels of Old Delhi who straightened her nerves and made her able to walk a bit for a while. The icing on the cake of that visit was her first meal at Karim’s at Jama Masjid she had with me and thoroughly enjoyed more than Hakim’s visit at Balli Maran.

Cinnta The Magic Word/ Wand

Sanjeev Sarna, a gifted human being in spirit and form, has been an acquaintance for two decades, meeting socially and guiding in the perils of life. He offered many other remedies (Ayurveda) to my family and a Pain relief oil. However, my mother was reluctant to use it for many years, oh the clothes smell, oh the bed sheets smell, and all the jazz.

Then the daunting and uphill of three surgeries got her to immerse and accept this incredible journey of simply applying Cinnta pain relief oil once a day generously on her knees, legs, and back, and she can walk easily, sleep comfortably, watch TV on a sofa 3-4 hours at a stretch. All these seemed impossible and a piped dream. She is pretty much independent and enthusiastic at 82, going to be 83.

Super thanks to Simply Cinnta and Ayurveda at teachersgrace.com, making her life Pain free, doable, and Happy. This is a long one, but this tribute and testimonial is one from the heart, as you can see and feel. Thank you very much, Cinnta.