There can be no doubt that modern medicine is well-equipped to diagnose and repair damaged bodies following an accident. But when the x-rays have been taken and eliminated the possibility of any internal problem and the standard course of treatment has been commenced, how can Ayurveda assist any further on the road to recovery?

In the first place, Ayurveda has a huge range of herbal medicines which are highly effective in speeding up the healing process and relieving pain. These include medicines that are specific to the repair of bone, muscle, tendons, cartilage, nerves, and every other conceivable type of tissue, as well as targeting any organ which might be in need of support and can be designed for either internal or external application.

In addition to supplying appropriate medicines, which are always selected according to the patient’s unique constitution, Ayurvedic treatment will include dietary advice to help accelerate the repair process. For example, certain diets are very helpful in bone repair while others may slow the process down – citrus fruits should certainly be avoided for the time being. Healing foods Include goat’s meat, crustaceans (in particular the abalone) for bone healing, and sesame seed and avocado for repairing the nerve channels.

Yogic practices, even breathing exercises, are not generally recommended at this time as they can interfere with the healing process. An exception is Nadi Shodhana as this opens the channels and helps in pain management.

I witnessed the power of Ayurvedic healing medicines for myself when some years ago in a fall I sustained severe cuts to two fingers which led to 90% loss of function in the nerves and tendons. A four-hour operation was successful but left me in extreme pain, for which I was given Panadol but this made me feel extremely unwell. I, therefore, decided to make up my own formulation, which I found worked perfectly for four hours. Every four hours I repeated the dose and continued in this way for several months, successfully keeping the pain at bay and completely avoiding infection. When I returned to the hospital for a check-up the doctor remarked how quickly the wound had healed, in contrast to the experience of my roommate at the time of the operation who had suffered repeated infections and much slower healing.

Following my own experience, I am happy to offer this treatment at my clinic with all medicines being formulated according to individual requirements. For further information call the Yatan Holistic Ayurvedic Centre on 1300 552 260.