1. TRADITIONAL SPORTS MEDICINE -
ANCIENT HEALTH WISDON
Prof. Kanwaljeet Singh
Dean Academic Affairs
Department of Physical Education
& Sports Technology
Sri Guru Granth Sahib World University
Fatehgarh Sahib
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With the cut throat competition in sports and
importance of victory and breaking records in the
Olympic has given rise to many performance
enhancing drugs. WADA has banned some of these
drugs and labeled them as ‘Doping’. Doping is
banned in the competitions. Athletes as well as
coaches are not aware of its ill effect on the body in
the later age. As a result of this the use of drugs has
reached an alarming stage where it is now being used
even by the school students. Everybody knows what
happened during the Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004
with our lifters who tested positive. Instead of
bringing Gold medals the players come back with
disgrace to the sports and the country as well.
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The aim of this paper is to bring
awareness to the people having association
with sports and physical education so that
further harm to the sports could be reduced if
not totally stopped. I have also endeavored
to enlighten them about the traditional
methods of Indian medicines which are very
rich and effective way of treatment without
any side effects. Before coming to that point
I would like to give same background of the
Indian system of medicine.
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It is beyond any doubt that there were four “Vedas’
namely ; ‘Rig Veda’, ‘Sama Veda’, ‘Yajur Veda’, and
‘Atharva Veda’, These vedas contained the wisdom of people
of those time based on their long tested experiences. In these
Vedas there is mention of medicine which is called Ayurveda
medicine. Apart from these vedas and Ayurveda medicine,
effect of other civilizations who invaded India from time to time
have also left their deep rooted impact on Indian Civilisation.
For example Emperor ‘Sikandar’ invaded India in about 320
BC and brought along with him the doctors (Hakims). They
practiced Greek system of medicine which is called ‘Unani
Medicine”. At present Unani medicine is in great demand and
it has established pharmacies. Aligarh Muslim University has
Unani Medical college and degrees of M.Sc. and M.Ds are
awarded.
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The great Indian scholars or
physicians, medical practitioners have
also written the ‘Classic Granth’ known as
‘Charaka Samhita’ and ‘Sasuruta
Samhita’. Charakas and Sasuruta have
propounded their own way of treatment of
diseases.
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Charaka Samhita and Sasuruta Samhita are famous
world wide as an importance source of old Ayurveda practice. It
has a history of five thousand years an it is the most ancient
Indian medical science. It is obvious that the herbs and plants
which were used for medicinal purposes were available in
abundance in India. Going by history, Sikandar raided India
with the purpose in mind to conquer it. He came with full
preparation and brought along battery of Hakims (doctors) and
medicines. Their first encounter was with ‘Porus’ who fought
bravely and inflicted heavy casualties. The Hakims gave their
observation that the kind of plants and herbs that were prevalent
in India, their citizen cannot be taken lightly to fight with. They
also observed that Sikandar did not require many Hakims and
sent back many of them. This he did keeping in view the kind of
vegetation and climatic conditions. With the entry of Greeks into
India came the Greek system of medicine. The British came
with Allopathy system of medicine.
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The basis theory of the Hindu medicinal system comprises of
three doshas namely
* Vata
* Pitta
* Kapha
According to them the diseases are caused by change in the
composition of these three doshas. According to WHO,
approximately twenty five percent of the modern drugs used in
the world are derived from the plants. In India, Ayurvedic
medicines have complex formulae with a number of ingredients
that undergo chemical processing and then used to balance
Vata, Pitta and Kapha.
Physical exercises have been recommended as a cure for
diabetes in Ayurveda as far as back as 600 BC and this was
confirmed in November 1976 by Dr. Vranic of Canada.
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Role of herbal medicine in modern human society
The use of herbs to treat disease is almost universal among
non-industrialized societies. A number of traditions came to
dominate the practice of herbal medicine at the end of the
twentieth century:
* The herbal medicine system, based on Greek and Roman
sources
* The Siddha and Ayurvedic medicine systems from India
* Chinese herbal medicine (Chinese herbology)
* Unani-Tibb medicine
* Shamanic Herbalism
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 80
percent of the world's population presently uses herbal medicine
for some aspect of primary health care. Even in USA as reported
by WHO approximately 25% of the modern drugs used in the
United States have been derived from plants.
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Infact the word drug itself comes from the Dutch
Word “Druug” which means ‘dried plants’. Some
examples are inulin from the roots of dahlias, quinine
from the cinchona, morphine and condeine from the
poppy. The advantage of use of herbs over the
pharmaceuticals is that over the long use herbs can
help the patient resist disease as it helps to develop
immunity and nutritional support. Therefore, the use of
herbs is viewed as prevention as well as cure.
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The herbalists claim that a single herb may
simultaneously help to cure several diseases/
weaknesses. It is interesting to note that the training of
medical herbalist is being done by universities in the UK.
They are offering Bachelor of Science degrees at
University of East London, Middlesex University,
University of Lancashire, University of Westminster,
University of Lincoln and Napier University Edinburgh.
In China, the traditional Chinese medicines have
been prepared in the light of modern science. They
believe in yin-yang balance of the body. They administer
their prescription keeping in view the yin-yang balance.
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Conclusion :
As per traditional ancient health wisdom of Ayurveda
the use of herbs and spices is very important to keep the
balance of TRIDOSA. The following herbs/ spices/ extracts
are specifically for health full living and better human
performance:
1 Ashawgandha
2 Shilajeet
3 Kesar
4 Trifla
5 Turmeric
6 Shatawari
The athletes are advised to use these mentioned herbs
to enhance their sports performance. There are no side
effects nor they fall into any doping category.
