Conservative Management of Avascular Necrosis by Siddha Therapy without Medicines and Surgical Intervention
Avascular Necrosis also called Osteonecrosis, is a disease that occurs from poor blood supply to the bones, leading to dead bony tissues. This process can cause breaks in the affected bone that eventually causes collapse of bone.
In this present case, a 43-years old female was diagnosed with non-traumatic Stage-3 AVN of left hip joint, with complaints of severe pain in Left hip joint and lower back from last 10 years. The pain was so severe that she was not able to attend her office from last few months. Her unability to drive her vehicle and constant pain while standing, sitting and walking was making her daily life miserable. Signs and symptoms of Avascular necrosis are nearer to Thasai Kootu Noigal (disorders of musculoskeletal origin) in Siddha medicine and can be seen in chronic condition.
A treatment plan for 35-days in 2-phases with follow-up after 6 months was planned along with support of physiotherapy and some diet modifications. An assessment was done by the questionnaire through grading system of signs and symptoms before and after treatment and patient was observed for symptomatic improvements. The patient was now able to drive her vehicle and attend office. Due to ROM betterment, her flexibility increased and pain due to movements on walking and sitting also decreased. MRI scans of bilateral hip joints after 7 months of this treatment revealed changes in AVN with the left hip joint transitioning from grade III to grade II, and the limb length measurement changing from 2cms to 1 cm post treatment. The results were positive and indicated good recovery. There was marked relief from pain on VAS scale, tenderness, stiffness and improvement in the gait. Her dependency on medicines also decreased to a great limit. Conservative management of AVN through Siddha practices provides significant relief and improves quality of life without the intervention of any use of medicines.