Getting up, doing your morning routine, dressing, eating, walking down to class, or going to a movie with friends are not remarkable things. These are routine, normal things that need not be acknowledged or appreciated specifically. However, 23-year-old Thomas (name changed) is extremely thankful for being able to do all these things.
Thomas has been visiting Vaidya Healthcare every 8 months for the past 6 years. He was diagnosed with distal myopathy, a rare form of genetic disorder that weakens his skeletal muscles. Thomas’ parents started getting worried when they noticed that their son was considerably weaker than his peers. He often complained of muscle cramps or stiffness after playtime. Slowly, his muscles started weakening and he was finding it difficult to get up. He started needing assistance to do even his daily chores. It was at this stage that he reached Dr. Kiran B Nair, CEO of Vaidya Healthcare in Perumbavoor, Kerala.
“Myopathy is a broad term used to indicate any type of disease that affect the skeletal muscles,” says Dr. Kiran. It is characterized by immune system weakness and weakness, inflammation, and wasting of the skeletal muscles. Men are more commonly affected by this condition than women. Women generally tend to be carriers of this genetic disorder.
Symptoms usually begin in childhood and progress with age. “Many children who visit us are wheelchair-bound and dependant on others to do their daily activities,” says Dr. Kiran. Many succumb to the disease in their early 20s or 30s as the muscle weakness starts affecting the lungs and heart muscles. Thomas’s mother remembers an uncle, who passed away quite young, having similar symptoms.
Ayurveda cannot cure myopathy completely; however, it can help arrest the progression of the disease to a certain extent. “We have been able to help many of our patients to get a semblance of normalcy in their lives with our Ayurvedic approach,” says Dr. Kiran.
The team at Vaidya Healthcare uses multiple approaches to treat patients with myopathy. Internal medicines aimed at boosting the immune system are combined with yoga and physiotherapies aimed at strengthening different muscle groups, including the lungs. Panchakarma treatments like Vasti (enema), Navara Kizhi (poultice), Udvartanam (powder massage), Ksheera Dhara (herbal milk), etc are employed to arrest muscle wasting and weakness.
Patients like Thomas show tremendous improvement after undergoing treatment at Vaidya Healthcare. They experience a drastic change in the way their body feels and behaves. Thomas says, “I have been feeling so much lighter after visiting Vaidya Healthcare. I was exhilarated when I could stand up by myself after a few weeks of treatment.” These treatments must be continued lifelong so that the condition does not worsen. In-house treatment is recommended every 6-8 months to ensure that the patients do not develop any complications.
Symptoms of myopathy can appear at any age. Diagnosis is often difficult since the symptoms vary from person to person. “At Vaidya Healthcare, our team has been dealing with different forms of myopathy including rare forms like Brody myopathy, distal myopathy, etc. This makes us an expert in diagnosing and treating such ailments,” says Dr. Kiran.
CONTACT US
Vaidya Health Care Hospital
MC Road,Vattakatupady
Perumbavoor,Ernakulam ,Kerala India 683542
0091-9744-55-3000 , 0091 9995922289
info@vaidyahealthcare.in
