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00:00I might have treated few thousands of sciatic patients in the past 23 years of Ayurveda
00:12practice however some patients they remain in the recall this patient a man of in his
00:2530s was brought to the clinic as supported by his wife I noticed the way he was walking
00:33bend his body towards one side while walking with an abnormal throwing action on one leg
00:45he even denied sitting or lying on the examination table saying it is more painful he was crying
00:54and mentioned me that there is something pulling in high inside his left leg I really saluted
01:05in mind the ancient Ayurvedic physicians who named a disease Ghritrasi the condition was
01:14identified and recorded in 700 BC itself by Susruta who is considered as the the father
01:23of surgery Ghritra in Sanskrit it means the bird vulture the word Ghritrasi itself suggests
01:34that the gait of the patient is similar to that of a vulture that's like a gait with
01:41abnormal throwing action another meaning of the word Ghritrasi is the deep piercing or
01:51the pulling pain as if a vulture is eating flesh with its sharp beak sciatica is one
02:01of the most excruciating and irritating pain of any neurological pain this patient with
02:13his narration of pain literally drew the anatomical course of the the longest nerve
02:22in the body the sciatic nerve he explained in tears excruciating pulling pain starting
02:31from the low back radiates all the way to the foot traveling behind the thighs behind
02:39the calf and on and off pricking sensation twitching or pulsating like an electric shockwave
02:49numbness and he is unable to feel the foot I diagnosed him as a typical type of Vada
02:58Ghritrasi which is triggered after lifting a luggage there is another type of Ghritrasi
03:06which is mentioned in Ayurveda called Vada Kapha Ghritrasi with symptoms of loss of taste
03:15reduced strength in the leg and heaviness of the leg etc the treatment is slightly different
03:22in each type in the celebrated Ayurveda book the Ashtanga Hridaya which was written in
03:31700 AD it clearly mentions that the movement of lifting of the leg is restricted in Ghritrasi
03:42now restricted straight leg raising or restricted SLR is considered as the clinical confirmation
03:50of sciatica I suggested this patient to lift his leg he was standing bending his knees
03:59he refused to even straighten his leg what is SLR when you are in an excruciating pain
04:08the confidence of an Ayurvedic doctor treating sciatica is coming with an experience of Ayurveda
04:15treating sciatica over 2500 years with herbs and therapies I tried to rewind you know all
04:24the Sanskrit slokas mentioned in the Ayurvedic principles of treating sciatica but I didn't
04:33find any of them suitable for a patient who is unable to sit or lie down and I didn't want
04:40to cause any further irritation on his firing nerve with oils or therapies actually I thought
04:50of doing a thermo cautery on his little finger as suggested by the Ayurvedic books however realize
04:57the practice limitations quickly I started some nerve tonics mentioned in Ayurveda and I asked
05:06his wife to prepare a portly a herbal compress of powdered horse gram keep it in the steam and
05:15apply gentle heat on his low back and legs also suggested complete rest for two to three days
05:23by keeping one or two pillows beneath his knees and to report me after three days Ayurveda recommends
05:32some do's and don'ts in sciatic patients I tell most of my sciatica patients to reduce dry food
05:42lentils and dals, cold food, spicy bitter and astringent taste, untimely eating, dieting and
05:51fasting, over exertion, keeping awake at night, suppression of urges, uncomfortable postures etc
06:00and this patient he came back after three days with a gentle smile however reported you know
06:11some numbness weakness and low back pain I have sent him for an x-ray which indicated early wear
06:19and tear changes of the lumbar vertebrae termed as the lumbar spondylosis I changed the course
06:26of treatment to that of classical treatment of gridrasi or sciatica with medicines and some
06:34heat therapies and oil therapies like kizhi, kadivasthi etc and this patient he got out of
06:42the symptom beautifully within three to four weeks still persisted some numbness on the toes
06:50I have further modified the treatment approach to that of lumbar spondylosis together with some
06:57nerve tonics and to be continued for a month time however I never saw him thereafter
07:07patients are like that they disappear either if completely healed or not benefited
07:15but I met him in a mall after an year who was walking with the family
07:20doing some shopping he came towards me and we spoke for a while he had actually you know dropped
07:28the medicines in between as his symptoms went away I felt he didn't give much value to my advice of
07:38taking care of his lumbar spondylosis I wished him happiness and health and he thanked Ayurveda
07:49you