Parkinson’s Disease (PD)

Parkinson’s Disease is a Progressive Neuro-degenerative disorder and it affects the nerve cells of the brain that produce Dopamine. Dopamine is a chemical messenger that is responsible for the controlled movement and coordination of various parts of the body. In Parkinson’s Disease, the nerve cells that produce Dopamine deteriorates and stops/reduces the production of Dopamine. It severely impacts the movement of muscle in the body as there is no signal from the brain.

According to Ayurveda principles, Parkinson’s Disease is caused by the vitiated Vata, which dries up the nerves and can be corelated with Vepathu or KampaVata.

Symptoms of Kampavata:

1. Kampa (Tremors).
2. Sthambha (Rigidity).
3. Chestasanga (Slowness of Movements).
4. Vaak Vikriti (Speech Disorder).
5. ……………….(Flexion posture).
6. Kshinamati (Dementia).
7. Smritihani (Loss of memory).
8. Vibandha (Constipation).

Kampavata is described to affect many parts of the body including Shirokampa (tremor of the head), OshtaKampa (Lip tremors), Hastakampa (tremor of hands), Pada Kampa (tremor of the legs), etc.

Clinical features:

May include one or some or all of the following:

1. Resting tremor
2. Bradykinesia
3. Rigidity
4. Stooped posture
5. Masked face
6. Pill rolling movements of the fingers
7. Lack of postural adjustments
8. Festinating gait
9. Drooping of saliva due to infrequent swallowing movement
10. Monotonous soft voice
11. Absence of arm swings while walking
12. Aches and pain in the body.

Treatment:

4 to 8 weeks of admission in the hospital is mandatory.

Patient and family members are educated about the disease

Destressing the patient plays an important role

Emotional support for the patient

Patient is encouraged to perform activities of daily living as much as possible.

Regular exercises, meditation, relaxation, etc are advised.

Carefully selected Ayurveda Panchakarma therapies along with internal medications are advised.

Yoga and Physiotherapy also form part of the treatment program.

What to expect after the treatment program:

1. Retarding the progression of the disease.
2. Reduction in tremors.
3. Improved flexibility of the body.
4. Reduction in rigidity
5. Improved gait.
6. Improved muscle strength, balance and coordination.
7. Improved self-confidence.
8. Reduction on the dependency on Allopathic medicines.
9. Improved quality of life.
10. Other symptomatic relief.

Follow-Up:

Usually, follow-up treatment is advised after a gap of 6 to 9 months, depending upon the condition of the individual patient. A total of 3 IP sessions are suggested.

Please note:
Response to the treatment varies from patient to patient depending upon the duration of the illness, severity, stage and other co-morbid conditions.

Tremors may take 6 months to 1 year to subside. Most other symptoms get reduced during the patient’s stay at the hospital.

A lot of effort and participation from the patient’s side is needed to get the desired results. Patients who are too old & weak, who are mentally compromised / unstable, who are unable to follow basic commands, who are unable to respond to instructions and who have undergone DBS surgery cannot be taken up for treatment. Favorable results not expected with such patients.

Patients above the age of 70 years may or may not get the desired results owing to old age.

Patients having Cardiac (heart) problems and / or Renal (Kidney) problems may not be considered for treatment at our Institution.

Patients having Psychiatric / Psychological issues may not be able to achieve the desired results.