• Pain management in Ayurveda

    Posted on by Dr. Shweta Labde

    Pain can be described as any physical suffering or discomfort         caused by illness or injury. No matter however mild the pain is anywhere in the body it lands you in a state of discomfort and affects your day to day activities. Pain can present in various ways as throbbing pain in toothache, eye ache or a colic pain which comes in spasm as in renal calculi, gnawing pain in abdominal discomfort, muscular pain as in sprain, sports injury, joint pain due to swelling and many more; and our answer to this is a pain killer which on frequent usage also kills our resistance power.

    Ayurveda explains the origin of pain is due to vitiated Vata dosha, once vata dosha is treated efficiently the pain subsides automatically.

    Many people have a false belief that Ayurveda is no good in times of acute pain, Ayurvedic medicines should only be consumed in chronic illnesses and it always gives very slow results but the thing is they are unaware of the wonder management. Here are the various ways to kill pain.

    1. Snehan and Swedan : The procedure includes application of medicated oil which is selected according to type of pain followed by sudation therapy (steam, dry heat, patra pottali, pinda sweda, etc.) Usually done in cases of sprain, back ache, muscular injury as in sports injury.

    In some cases of abdominal pain like renal colic or accumulation of gases Basti treatment works wonders. Lumbar pain can as well managed by Various types of Basti therapy.

    Kati Basti, Janu Basti, Manya Basti, Hrid Basti, Netra Basti are organ related procedures  performed at respective site to manage pain and at the same time strengthen them.

    Internal oleation is one of the best way to control vata dosha, 2-3 tsp of ghee everyday will serve the purpose.

    2. AgnikarmaAgnikarma is basically performed in two ways

    a) Direct heat and  b) Indirect heat, we follow the second method in our clinic. A small rod of Gold with a blunt end, specially designed for this purpose is placed on the affected area and the heat is transferred through the other end by a candle, till the patient can bear the heat. It works effectively and gives immediate relief.

    Usually done in conditions like joint pain, pain due to cervical or lumbar spondylosis, spasmodic pain due to calculi, sciatica the procedure is done along the path of the nerve, frozen shoulder. The other way (direct heat) is useful in pain at heels which is done by Mruttika shalaka (earthen rod), Jaundice where root of turmeric is used for the purpose.

    3. Blood letting : Blood letting again is performed in various ways the common methods used in practice are : -

    a) Jalaukavcharan (Leech therapy) – The characteristic feature of leech is it only sucks the impure blood from the body. In conditions like painful cracked heels or soles and palms due to excessive dryness, headache due to vitiated pitta, some skin diseases, swelling in various tissues or joints, pain due to contused wound where blood capillaries get ruptured and the blood gets accumulated under the skin resulting in pain. Leeches are usually used where the cause of pain lies in blood tissue. The moment the impure blood is sucked out the pain disappears.

    b)Blood letting by syringe or scalp vein wherein blood is removed by puncturing the vein. In patients where blood pressure constantly remains high without any definite symptoms blood letting plays an efficient role.

    c) Viddha karma : This is a miniature of blood letting , a very small puncture is done with the help of an insulin needle. The knowledge of vital points and symptom related points is essential. this procedure serves many purposes but usually in headache, eyeache, tonsillitis, nasal blockage, renal colic, pain related to nerve defects, joint pain radiated pain, and much more.

    The treament gives its miraculous results in fraction of a second.

    4. Lepa : Lepa literally means application of paste of herbs on the affected area and leave it to dry. Usually applied in cases of swelling, injury, sprain, etc.

    Note : All these procedures should be carried out under guidance of an Ayurvedic consultant only.

    Taking care of the Vata dosha is the best preventive measure one can undertake. Now its time to bid bye to Pain killers and choose a healthy lifestyle.


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