Yoga Application for Low Back Pain Dayanand Dongaonkar
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fm1YOGA Application for Low Back Pain
fm2fm3YOGA Application for Low Back Pain
Dayanand Dongaonkar (Late) MBBS, MS (Ortho), FCPS, D ortho Formerly Professor of Orthopaedics Grant Medical Collage, Sir JJ Group of Hospitals Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.
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Yoga Application for Low Back Pain
First Edition:2013
9789350903131
Printed at
fm5To
My mother
Late Mrs Ratnabai Dongaonkar
Who taught me the art of living
&
the patients who educated
me in developing the art.fm6
fm7Foreword
This little book constitutes a crystallisation of the author's experience of introducing the techniques and philosophy of yoga into the precincts of western hospital medicine, successfully. The intention is that a wider audience should have the benefit of a written guide where circumstances deny the presence of the teacher himself. The perception of disability through low back pain continues to increase geometrically in all western nations. Frustration with the failure of conventional forms of pain management (frequently major surgery) has led to vast experimentation with non-invasive techniques of pain control, many of which would have been regarded as outrageous and definitely unorthodox, until very recently. Desperation, however, can force a reconsideration of principles on even the most conservative of “orthodox” medical practitioner, and the low back pain epidemic currently afflicting our national finances and productivity is causing just such desperation. If an unconventional therapy is clearly achieving some success, then arguments against its use can only be the result of mean spirit and a lack of good sense.
My own department has produced an unpublished study of relative virtues of hospital-based management of low back pain and a variety of “alternative” therapies: the patient who had experience of both, brought the sobering conclusion that the alternative therapies were the more successful. Yoga may be regarded by some as a good example of an unconventional therapy for low back pain, but it has been shown to be successful for a good number of individuals. More important is the fact that it has never apparently caused any harm, and the cost of its application is negligible.
Professor Dongaonkar is not only an orthopedic surgeon of conventional and conservative training but also a student and practitioner of yoga. I recommend this text to those who seek relief from the disability of low back pain, especially where previous techniques have failed. I predict that there will be a major enlargement of interest in the use of yoga for low back and other spinal pain, in the years to come.
SM Eisenstein PhD, FRCS
Director,
Spinal Disorders,
Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic and District Hospital,
Oswestry, Shoropshire, UKfm8
fm9Foreword
In this era of fast mechanised lifestyle back abuse is anticipated. The way low back pain is emerging as most common health problem, indicates self-neglect and lowered motivation to overcome by timely intervention.
Dr Dayanand Dongaonkar though from modern medicine was a committed person for Yoga. I have seen his working on this issue for last 22 years. He endeavoured to convince British doctors to accept Yoga as a better alternative to physiotherapy. He had advised yoga therapy to many of his friends and relatives with stress-induced problems. He had referred many bureaucrats, health minister to this centre for their health problems. The total approach of Yoga for back problems is well appreciated and used in VYASA all over the world. He was successful to start Yoga clinic in Grant Medical College and JJ Hospital. He was conducting a low back pain clinic and teaching at Prashanti Kutiram after retirement.
His passion for publishing the book ‘Yoga Application on Low Back Pain’ was long pending. The protocol mentioned in this book was tried on many patients and all of them were benefitted to variable degree of comfort. The inclusion of global statistics of low back pain and economic burden highlights the magnitude of problem. The pain modulation concept is wonderfully explained. The design of the book fulfilled the quest of academician as well as general public. The simplified language and illustrations makes the book more acceptable. We congratulate Dr Deepti Dongaongkar for working hard to make his dream true in the form of this fine book.
The book is worth preserving in every home as a treasure.
Dr HR Nagendra
Vice-Chancellor, S-VYASA Yoga University, Bangalore, Karnataka
Swami Vivekananda Yoga Anusandhaana Samsthana (S-VYASA)
Silver Jubilee year (1986-2011) of VYASA,
the mother organisation of S-VYASAfm10
fm11Foreword
It is with immense happiness and pride that I write the foreword for this book.
Today, we see a technologically assisted sedentary and comfortable lifestyle which is the cause for low backaches in majority of the young populace.
Dr Dayanand Dongaonkar, an eminent Orthopaedic Surgeon, Vice- Chancellor of Maharashtra University of Health Sciences, Nashik, a dear and personal friend of mine was one of the few to recognise the importance of early yoga and physiotherapy teachings and practices in treating back disorders.
This book gives a broad outlook to the problem as well as focuses on the methods to curb it. The resurgence of yogic lifestyle is not a fad, but a requirement of the present times. The time has come to have a comprehensive book which can guide a student and be a companion for consultants and general practitioners giving much-needed direction to the common public. This book achieves this all with an amazing simplicity. The text is thoughtfully written and gives very practical solution to the practice of yoga for a healthy living.
Dr Dayanand Dongaonkar with his insight into the problems of back and his expertise of yoga has done more than justice in writing such a book. A surgeon with great sensitivity and compassion for his patients, with a vast knowledge of his subject, he is perhaps the most ideal person to write such a book.
I strongly recommend this book for all the seekers of knowledge and guidance and wish it a grand success.
Dr KH Sancheti
Professor Emeritus in Orthopaedics
Chief Orthopaedic Surgeon
Sancheti Hospital and Joint Replacement Surgery, Pune, India
(Recipient of Padmashri and Padmabhushan Award)fm12
fm13Preface
Science is growing very fast, as is medicine. With all these scientific advances, we, as the practitioners of modern medicine, have failed in the prevention and management of low back pain. Senior professionals advise us to abandon patients who do not respond to traditional low back pain treatment.
I consider this to be our professional and moral failure. I accepted this situation as a challenge and tried to search for a solution from alternative medicine. Being a student and practitioner of yoga, I have found that this discipline deals with psychosomatic problems more efficiently than any other system. Initially, I tried yoga with some problem low back pain patients where traditional treatment had failed. Surprisingly, I observed very good results. My morale was high during the early trials as this was a non-invasive and safe system.
After initial random trials, I decided to conduct an organised study in comparison with physiotherapy. A controlled randomised prospective study was undertaken during 1992, at the University Hospital, Nottingham in collaboration with Professor RC Mulholland. The scientific community and the hospital management were quite helpful but unfortunately the physiotherapy department refused to co-operate for various reasons.
Hence, I conducted the initial unilateral study and found the early results very promising. Eighty percent of patients performing regular yoga practice showed improvement with pain, mobility and level of activity.
The work was presented at the University Hospital, Nottingham, the Back Pain Research Society (UK) at Manchester and The European Spinal Society meeting at Bochum, Germany. It was very well received in all these meetings. It further needs controlled randomised prospective study.
In the meantime, I thought it would be useful to provide this information to the patients and concerned professionals. This provides a first stage programme for chronic low back pain patients and I am keen to develop it further to improve their levels of activity. I will be happy to receive any constructive criticism of this book.
Dayanand Dongaonkar (Late)fm14
fm15Acknowledgements
I have been wanting for a long time to write about my experience in the management of low back pain with yogic application. It is now the right time to remember all the people who have helped me to realise this dream.
Firstly, I would like to thank my first teacher who was a Sanayasi from whom I had my basic training of yogic practices, when I was in Shyamlal Memorial High School, Udgir, Latur District. I would also like to thank the institute, which helped me to refine my knowledge of the yogic practices. Amongst the notables are Kaivalayadham Yoga Institute, Lonavala and Bihar School of Yoga, Munger.
My dream was first realised when I took upon organised research project at University Hospital, Nottingham, on “Yogic applications in low back pain” in 1992-93. The major support in the activity was from Professor RC Mulholland who helped me to boost my confidence in this field.
While I was doing this project, in collaboration with Yoga Biomedical Trust, Cambridge, UK, I had conducted series of workshops to train yoga therapists for low back pain management. These activities gave me further confidence about the system. Dr Robin Munro and Mr Kamal Paul from London were mainly responsible for organising these courses.
Dr Eisenstein, Consultant and Director, Department of Spinal Surgery at Oswestry, UK, has very kindly written a foreword to this book, considerably enhancing its credibility.
Many other people have helped me in putting this book together. It would be difficult to name all of them. The important among them are Dr Sheriff from Birmingham, Dr Padmini Tekur from VYASA, Bangalore and Mr Minoo Randeria from London.
The Research Society of Grant Medical College and Sir JJ Hospital, Mumbai, has helped me to have an ongoing project on ‘Yogic Management of Low Back Pain’. I would like to thank the members of the society who have encouraged me to publish this book. I would also like to thank the administration of the Grant Medical College and Sir JJ Group of Hospitals, Mumbai, for providing the platform for this research activity.
I am really grateful to my patients who have been instrumental in the development of the practices by being actively involved in the therapeutic trials. I am sure that their contribution will help in the service of other suffering patients.fm16
fm17My Words
Dear Readers
Publishing this book ‘Yoga Application for Low Back Pain’ was a passion and dream of Late Prof Dayanand Dongaonkar, which he could not complete in his lifetime.
The process began in the year 1994-95. Learning from operated and non-operated spine patients, recurring nature of back pain, long waiting lists of patients with low back pain abroad, made him develop his own protocol for yoga application for prevention, care and rehabilitation of back pain patient. He had long list of patients from Government and private sector that were benefitted by his protocol of yoga and avoided surgery for lifetime.
The professional responsibility compounded with administrative responsibility as Dean of Grant Medical College, Mumbai, followed by challenge of setting up a new Medical University in the state until 2003 left him no time to pursue his own publication for what he learned through professional life. The assignment of Secretary General of Association of Indian Universities kept him occupied (rather tied up) with national and international forums on higher education policies.
Untimely departure from this eternal world within few months of retirement left his passion of publishing this book unfulfilled.
Family and friends persuaded me to publish this book.
Dr Deepti Dayanand Dongaonkar
Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology
Dean, Government Medical College,
Latur, Maharashtra, India