The Kottakkal Arya Vaidya Sala and the World Health Organisation (WHO) will jointly launch a research programme on the effect of ayurveda treatment for inter-vertebral disc prolapse (IVDP) or back pain.
The study will concentrate on people between 20 to 50 years of age, said Arya Vaidya Sala officials. The WHO-funded project will chronicle the effect of the Vasti treatmentapplied widely in ayurveda for various cases of back pain.
Only IVDP patients aged between 20 and 50 years will be considered for consultation and treatment. Their treatment will be subjected to the conditions specified in the project. There will be no other medicine apart from the Vasti procedure, said P.M. Warrier, project leader and chief superintendent of the Kottakkal Arya Vaidya Sala. He said the Vasti treatment had a legendary effect on IVDP. "We have been doing it for long. Now we are going to put in record the wonderful effects of this treatment with the help of the WHO," said Dr.Warrier.
The inter-vertebral discs are circular pads of tissue that separate the bones of the back (vertebrae). These discs consist of a jelly-like centre encapsulated in a fibrous coating and act as shock absorbers between the vertebrae to soften the pressure forces in the back, especially when someone is running, bending and lifting. Slipped disc - A prolapse of a disc (often called a slipped disc) happens when so much pressure is put on the disc that the gelatinous centre bursts out of the coating.
This protrusion may then press on one of the nerves leaving the spinal cord and running just behind the disc, causing the nerve to become numb or to send pain messages to the brain. The most common place for a prolapsed disc to occur is in the lumbar (lower back) region although it may occur in the cervical region (neck) or, less commonly, in other places down the spine.