Ayurvedic approach to Cervical Myelopathy - A Case Report

Cervical myelopathy is a condition describing a compression of the spinal cord at the cervical level resulting in spasticity, hyperreflexia, hand clumsiness and gait disturbances. This progresses in a stepwise manner with functional decline and significant paralysis. Decompression surgery is necessary if conservative treatment fails. Sarvangavata is the one disease in Ayurveda which has the similar clinical features as myelopathy. Here is the case of 59 years old male with reduced strength in both upper and lower extremities, difficulty in getting up from lying position, standing and walking without support, difficulty in grasping and gripping objects, bladder and bowel incontinence for 6 months and was diagnosed with Cervical Myelopathy. MRI of Cervical Spine showed C4–C5 canal stenosis with myelopathy. Udwartana, Parisheka Sweda, Abhyanga, Shashtika Shali Pinda Sweda, Basti and Shamanoushadhis were given for the duration of 42 days and assessments were done on the basis of Medical Research Council (MRC) Scale for Muscle Strength, Modified Japanese Orthopaedic Association (mJOA) Score and Myelopathy Disability Index, there was marked improvement in these scales.