A case report of Ayurveda management of ankylosing spondylitis

Abstract

Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a type of spondyloarthropathy and involves autoimmune pathology mainly affecting joints of the spine and sacroiliac joints and their soft tissues which are adjacent such as tendons and ligaments. A 12-year-old male patient visited Ayurveda Hospital with complaints of back ache with more severity in the low back radiating to bilateral buttocks, knees, and lower limbs. Considering the clinical history, physical examination, and magnetic resonance imaging of the sacroiliac joint, the condition was diagnosed as AS. As the symptoms of the patient in the present case resembled Gambhira Vatarakta, the patient was treated on the lines of Vatarakta Chikitsa. Shodhana (~Purificatory Methods), Shamana (~Oral medications), and Rasayana (~Rejuvenating medicines) were administered. Shodhana Chikitsa included Snigdha Virechana (~Purgation therapy) and Basti Chikitsa (~medicated enema). The patient showed remarkable improvement in symptoms in the present study by the Ayurveda line of management.

Keywords

• ankylosing spondylitis
• rasayana
• shamana
• shodhana
• vatarakta