The management of lumbar intervertebral disc disease through siddha medicine - A case study

A herniated disc compresses the nerves or spinal cord causing pain and spinal cord dysfunction. This condition can be correlated with Korai Vatham mentioned in the Siddha text, "Vaatha nithanam", representing symptoms like Pain in the lumbo-sacral joint, heat and pricking sensation in the perineum, unable to sit erect, numbness or paraesthesia in the lower limbs. The patient, 34 years married male presented with complaints of pain in the low back region radiating to both lower limbs, and weakness in both lower limbs for the past 25 days was admitted in the IPD of the Varma maruthuvam Department in Ayothidoss Pandithar Hospital and treated with Varmam therapy and external therapies like Ennai kattu, Kombaraku Otradam along with internal medicine for 21 days. After the treatment of 21 days, the pain scoring in Oswestry Lowback Disability Scale was reduced from 37/50 to 22/50. This case study contributes to knowledge by aligning Siddha medicine with lumbar disc disease and presenting preliminary evidence that Varmam therapy, combined with external and internal Siddha treatments, can alleviate disability and enhance quality of life, as demonstrated through standardized outcome measures.