Abstract

A COMPARATIVE CLINICAL STUDY OF SIRAVEDHA AND AGNIKARMA IN MANAGEMENT OF GRIDHRASI (SCIATICA)

Dr. Sarang Sureshrao Ramdhave*

Abstract

Background: The prevalence of low back pain is 50–70% throughout life, and 4–6% of people have clinically significant sciatica as a result of lumbar disc prolapse. Sciatica and low back pain are two of the leading causes of morbidity worldwide. The only options available are conservative measures that provide momentary pain relief or surgery that has adverse effects. Today's patients need to find fast pain treatment because pain has an impact on their physical, mental, and social well-being. Ayurveda offers a variety of treatments, but Agnikarma and Siravedha are meant to provide immediate pain relief. Aim: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of Sirvedha and Agnikarma in treating Griidhrasi. Materials and Methods: This experiment is a parallel group, open-label randomization. Thirty patients in all were treated with Agnikarma in 19 cases and Siravedha in 11 cases. The patients were split randomly into two groups. Panchadhatu Shalaka performed Agnikarama on the lumbosacral spine and Achilles tendon area. Four Angulas below Janu Sandhi (the knee joint) was where Siravedha was performed. Every patient received pills containing placebo starch. To compare the efficacy of two groups, use the Chi-square test and the paired t-test for efficacy within the group. Results: For each group separately, Gridhrasi's cardinal symptoms have been relieved. Following Agnikarma, 68.42% of patients had a noticeable improvement, while 21.05% had total alleviation. Of the patients in Siravedha, 27.27% showed significant improvement, while 72.73% showed moderate improvement. Conclusion: Agnikarma manages Gridhrasi more effectively than Siravedha.

Keywords: Agnikarma, Gridhrasi, Raktamokshana, sciatica, Siravedha.