Due recognition

Medical experts have always been busy inventing new medicines and procedures for curing rapidly proliferating diseases across the world. However, a large number of diseases still elude modern medical science. The Covid-19 pandemic has proved that to tackle this serious menace, apart from vaccination, we also need to openly study and explore alternative therapies like Ayurveda, Unani and Homeopathy. The allopathic standard procedures and protocols announced by the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences and the Indian Council of Medical Research have kept changing. Initially, the antiviral Remdesivir injection was touted as an effective option for treating severe Covid-19 cases, but now this drug has been taken off from the treatment protocol due to its ineffectiveness and a burgeoning black market where it was sold for around Rs 40,000 a vial. At the same time, allopathic doctors were pooh-poohing with contempt the other claims of treatment by the alternative therapies proposed by Ayurveda, Siddha and Homeopathy. It is a fact that Coronavirus is easily braced by more than 85 per cent of the population due to strong immunity; it is the balance 15 per cent population that is at risk of complications and mortality. So, common sense would tell that any immunity booster would definitely help to overcome the disease, which was successfully done by many Ayurvedic and Homeopathic formulations.

The objective of narrating this is to exhort the Government of India's health experts to open their minds to alternative medicines. Several diseases have no treatment in modern medical science. This writer, through his organization, has been monitoring such examples of alternative therapies. One such therapy which is doing very well in India, especially in the Nagpur belt of Maharashtra and in Uttarakhand, is the 'Sujok Therapy' — an advanced version of acupressure with several additional methods like the use of colour, magnet and lentils. This drugless therapy was invented by a Korean Professor, Park Jae Woo, a few decades ago. It is a mixture of acupuncture and other healing methods. 'Sujok' is made of two words Su (hand) and Jok (feet). The Sujok treatment method is based on the principle that all parts of the body have a positional link in our palms and feet, and it thus focuses only on treating the hands and feet. After successfully treating many chronic diseases in his country, Prof Park chose India to propagate his therapy and established the Sujok Association of India in Nagpur. He groomed and trained a few physiotherapists and other interested people and kept on visiting India to popularise this drugless treatment. The therapy has become very popular in some parts of India among people suffering from chronic diseases like axonal neuropathy and cerebral palsy, epilepsy, migraine, autism spectrum disorder etc. It is a boon for the poor as well as well-to-do people as it has been found to fully cure these incurable diseases. Further, the therapy is a natural and painless procedure. It is also safe and does not need any oral medicine. Besides being affordable it gives quick relief.

Sujok treatment is carried out using small needles and magnets — specially designed with expert precision — to carry out the specialized treatment. The needles are made of steel suitable for medical use in humans. These have spring-like handles on one side and are perfectly shaped for painless insertion. The therapy also uses the energy in lentil seeds apart from colour therapy. One of the most effective ways to massage the points of the body part where the treatment is needed is done by a diagnostic and therapeutic stick after identifying the exact points and then treating those points by massaging.

Magnets are the most important tools in the armoury of Sujok healers. These are used to channelize the flow of energy in the identified body part. Yet another way of treatment is the application of an elastic ring massager as a useful and handy way to provide continuous pressure on the identified point.

The treatment offered by Sujok practitioners is for a long list of diseases like arthritis, bronchitis, asthma, cervical, spondylitis, backache, joint pain, migraine, hypertension, sinusitis, deafness, paralysis, constipation, acidity, obesity, diabetes, blood pressure, menstrual problems and many more diseases related to different organs of our body. This writer has found that the therapy is fully successful in muscle- and nerve-related diseases, especially for axonal neuropathy. A patient suffering from the complication visited Sujok clinic after he roamed around all the top hospitals of Delhi. He was cured by Subhash Choudhury, a Sujok therapist based in Dehradun in nine months as his nerve conduction value had reached 56 per cent from 14 per cent. This writer has also seen two cerebral palsy-affected children being fully cured.

If Sujok therapy has achieved success in the treatment of chronic diseases like axonal neuropathy and cerebral palsy then what is the hitch in recognizing the procedure after verification of protocols? It is the obduracy and superiority complex of mandarins of health infrastructure in India that prevent recognition of such new procedures. The Government of India should bring the health experts out of self-praise mode and ensure openness with respect to emerging treatment procedures like Sujok, and evolve an integrated treatment protocol for certain identified diseases where a combination of all forms of medical therapies can be applied to cure the ailments. The Sujok foundation in India has been trying for recognition of their procedures for a few incurable chronic diseases. In some of the states like Uttarakhand, the health experts agreed to recognize the therapy after they saw the cured patients' details but insisted on the government's approval. The way people are thronging the Sujok clinics, it is likely to get the support of the wider public notwithstanding the ignorance by healthcare experts. This is time to take stock of whatever is good in our society. This is the best lesson we can learn from the Covid-19 pandemic.

The writer is Chairman of the Centre for Resource Management and Environment. Views expressed are personal