Temperament/Mijaz of people suffering with sciatica: A descriptive research

Abstract

Background: Historically Hippocrates was the first physician who used the term ‘Sciatica’, derived from the Greek ‘Ischios’ meaning ‘hip’. He also noticed the symptoms were more frequent in summer and autumn. Low back pain & sciatica is a most common health problem around the world & major cause of disability which affect work performance & general well-being. Sciatica rarely occurs before the age of 20. Incidence peaks in the fifth decade decline thereafter. There are so many environmental and inherent factors that influence sciatica. Sciatica ranges from 1.6% in the general population to 43% in the specific waged population. Identifying temperament in sciatica patients will help in appropriate selection of different Unani remedies and therapies for its treatment and productive research. It might prove a breakthrough in managing Sciatica and decreasing the burden on conventional medicines and their side-effects. Methods: The Current Study was based on a questionnaire and examination of sixty (60) diagnosed cases of Sciatica according to the temperament chart recommended in Unani literature.Results: The Study revealed that 48.3% of Sciatica Patients were having Phlegmatic Temprament (Balghamī al- Mizāj) 35.0% having sanguine (Damwī al-Mizāj) 10.0% were bilious (Safrāwī al-Mizāj) and 6.7% were Melancholic (Sawdawi al- mizaj).Conclusion: Sciatica is more prevalent among patients with Phlegmatic temperament followed by sanguine temperament. Thus supports the description given by Razi more than thousand years ago.