Role of śodhana śamana and bṛṃhaṇa basti in the Management of gṛdhrasī

Abstract

gṛdhrasī is a common disorder explained in the context of vāta vyādhi in Ayurveda which greatly interferes with the quality of life. The symptoms of Gṛdhrasī simulate with sciatica. Sciatica is one of the most common causes of pain and disability. The treatment available in modern medicine for sciatica is either conservative such as rest, immobilization, analgesics, anti-inflammatory, or surgical which is not much satisfactory. Here, a case of 58-year-old female complaining of low backache radiating to the left lower limb along with numbness in the distal portion of the left leg and inability to walk without support, is reported. basti cikitsā (medicated enema) is the prime treatment modality among the pañcakarma (five main purifcation procedures) for vāta doṣa and śodhana therapy has already been established being better than śamana, a specific śodhana (purificatory), śamana (palliative) and bṛṃhaṇa (nourishing the tissues and producing anabolic effects) basti was planned in this particular case. The case under the study showed remarkable improvement in almost all the subjective and objective parameters within a span of 8 days of basti and after the follow-up of 1 month. śodhana, śamana, and bṛṃhaṇa Basti were satisfactory on subjective, objective as well as radiographic parameters and can be applied on cases of sciatica after consideration of the doṣas involved.