Soon, arthritis treatment at Ayurved College, Tudiaganj

LUCKNOW: The department of Ayush has planned to start arthritis treatment at hospitals operating under it.

To begin with, the hospital attached to Ayurved College, Tudiaganj, here will begin the treatment facility.

Secretary, Ayush department, Mukesh Meshram, said that expanding the scope of the initiative to get similar clinics opened at different hospitals across the state would “depend on the availability of experts and infrastructure”.

“We are working to get more facilities for patients. These will be introduced in phases,” he said. Dr Sandip Rastogi of Ayurved College said, “Among patients coming here, up to 35% have problems of joint pain or arthritis. Hence, starting this facility will help many of them. We will provide the treatment in a separate clinic.”“It is necessary, as such patients experience discomfort moving from one counter to another for registration, purchasing medicines, getting physiotherapy etc,” he said, adding that all facilities would be made available at one point and patients would not be required to move from one building or floor to another.

The Ayush department also plans to initiate research work in the field to improve the treatment offered to patients.

“It has been observed that many times the reason for the same ailment is different in different patients. So, research work is important and will certainly help improve the diagnosis,” said Meshram.

Dr Sandeep Kapoor, director Healthcity hospital, Lucknow, said that Arthritis was a growing problem and lauded the initiative. “Arthritis is a joint disorder commonly affecting people over the age of 55. How much a patient is affected depends upon the severity of the disease. Some risk factors are obesity, age, trauma, smoking and alcohol consumption,” he said.