Dalk (massage): A Remedial Therapy for Waja Uz Zahr (Low Back Pain)

Abstract

Dalk (Massage) is one of the oldest forms of remedial therapy, It is a universal method that is potentially applicable in all reflex changes produced by pain (nociceptive stimuli). It is pleasurable, routinely brings relief and is therefore also very popular with patients. Massage has the potential to influence emotion, biochemistry and biomechanics, usually without adding excessively to the adaptation load, and is therefore uniquely placed to be able  to applied in most situations, from minor injuries to terminal conditions. The art of massage was already well known to the physicians of ancient Greece when Hippocrates, the “father of medicine,” wrote in the 5th century B.C. that “the way to health is a scented bath and an oiled massage every day”. The use of dalk for low back pain is very popular in Unani system of medicine, where dalk is believed to have powerful analgesic effects, by liquefying and eliminating the accumulated waste metabolites in the body. The aim of this review is to highlight the concept of massage in Unani system of Medicine and its evidence based impact on low back pain.

Key words: massage, Dalk, low back pain, Waja uz Zahr, Unani medicine