Management of tennis elbow by Agnikarma.

ABSTRACT

Tennis elbow is a painful condition and causes restricted movement of forearm which requires treatment for long period. Till date only symptomatic treatments are available like use of anti-infl ammatory analgesic drugs, steroids injection, physiotherapy, exercise etc. But none of these provide satisfactory result. Long term use of anti-infl ammatory, analgesic drugs and steroids injection is also not free from the adverse effects. Usually, 'wait-and-see policy' of treatment guideline is recommended in most of medical texts. According to Ayurveda, snayugata vata can be correlated with the condition of tennis elbow. Sushruta has advised Agnikarma for disorders of snayu (ligaments and tendons), asthi (bone), siddhi (joints) etc. Hence, in this study a case of tennis elbow (snayugata vata) was treated by Agnikarma, along with administration of powder of Ashwagandha and Navajivana Rasa orally, for a period of 03 weeks. This combination therapy provided considerable relief in pain and movement of the elbow joint.