Low back pain is a very common condition that occurs at least once in a life time and can be acute or chronic depending on the underlying cause. If the pain persists even after twelve weeks, it is chronic. There are several reasons for low back pain: muscle or tendon sprain, arthritis, spine injury, compression fractures, ruptured or herniated disc, sciatica, spinal stenosis, change in spine's curvature or underlying conditions like cancer, TB in spine, referred pain from kidneys, uterus etc. At Radhakrishna Ayurvedic Hospital, using Panchakarma technique, we offer a better treatment besides internal medication that strengthens the nerve roots.

Low back region consists of lumbar vertebrae and sacral vertebrae. There are five lumbar and five sacral vertebrae- L1, L2, L3, L4, L5 and S1, S2, S3, S4, S5 along with coccyx bone. The vertebrae are connected with intervertebral disc. The spinal nerve roots branch from either side of the vertebrae. Any injury to the vertebrae or intervertebral disc causes impingement of nerve root at various levels in the form of disc bulge, herniated disc, osteophyte formation or narrowing of canal resulting in pain. The risk factors for developing low back pain include:

• Age Factor - more common after 30 years
• Overweight / obesity
• Improper lifting of weight
• Lack of exercise
• Smoking
• Stress (both physical and mental)
• Improper sitting position
• Underlying diseases (arthritis, osteoporosis, cancer, infections etc.)

In low back ache due to spondylitis or spondylosis- Pain can be either a dull ache or severe shooting pain like that of electric shock. It can radiate to legs and can be associated with numbness, burning sensation. In some cases, urinary incontinence may be present. If chronic, patient will have difficulty walking and may also be bed ridden. Low back pain is described as Kati shula or Kati graha in Ayurveda, occuring primarily due to vata vitiation in Kati(i.e. low back), resulting in severe pain.

In sciatica, the low back pain radiates to either of the legs or both causing severe pain and at times causing difficulty in daily routine. In Ayurveda, this condition is described as Gridhrasi. Gridhrasi can occur either due to vatadosha or vata in association with kaphadosha. When kapha is also involved there is stiffness of low back along with pain. Using pain killers for a long time is not advisable. Surgery is of little or no use, as the pain re-occurs post surgery most of the times.

Cervical or Neck Pain

Most of the time patients complain of neck pain, giddiness, headache or pain radiating to one or both the hands along with numbness or tingling sensation in fingers. In severe cases, the patient can't perform simple actions like eating, writing, wearing clothes etc., This is mainly due to disturbance of cervical spine, injury or physical stress causing degeneration of disc, osteophyte formation, disc bulge, or herniation of disc, Improper posture (leaning over computer, bending down for long time for smartphone use etc.), physical strain, age factor etc., Ayurveda describes this condition as Greevavata or Visvachiwhich occurs due to either vatadosha or vatadosha associated with kapha.

At Radhakrishna Ayurvedic Hospital, we offer best treatment for Cervical or Neck Pain using Panchakarma and internal medication as a cure with 100% success rate.