{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,30]],"date-time":"2026-06-30T17:47:37Z","timestamp":1782841657512,"version":"3.54.5"},"reference-count":15,"publisher":"JMIR Publications Inc.","content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["JMIR Res Protoc"],"abstract":"Abstract<\/jats:title>\n \n Background<\/jats:title>\n \n Marma<\/jats:italic>\n therapy, a traditional Ayurvedic practice, involves the precise stimulation of\n marmas<\/jats:italic>\n (vital points that regulate\n prana<\/jats:italic>\n [vital energy]) and alleviates musculoskeletal pain and dysfunction. While historical texts describe\n marma<\/jats:italic>\n \u2019s role in pain relief, no randomized controlled trials have evaluated its efficacy and safety in lumbar disc herniation (LDH)\u2013related radiculopathy.\n <\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Objective<\/jats:title>\n \n This study aims to explore the efficacy and safety of\n marma<\/jats:italic>\n therapy in a commonly occurring painful condition, namely, radiculopathy due to LDH.\n <\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Methods<\/jats:title>\n \n Selected patients with LDH and radiculopathy are randomized into 2 groups using a computer-generated random number sequence. The participants in group 1 (the trial arm) are treated with\n marma<\/jats:italic>\n therapy for 4 weeks, and those in group 2 (the control arm) receive physiotherapy for 4 weeks. All the participants in both groups are given an oral medicine,\n trayodashanga guggulu<\/jats:italic>\n , an Ayurvedic formulation, for 12 weeks.\n <\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Results<\/jats:title>\n As of November 2025, a total of 90 patients have been enrolled in both groups. Data analysis is ongoing. The study will be reported following standard guidelines for reporting randomized controlled trials. Clinical trial results will be disseminated through conferences and publication in a peer-reviewed scientific journal.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Conclusions<\/jats:title>\n \n Marma<\/jats:italic>\n therapy, if proven effective and safe in pain management, can improve the quality of life of patients with LDH. This protocol can be useful in designing large-scale studies to establish this noninvasive and safe treatment as an alternative modality for the management of neurological pain, such as radiculopathy.\n <\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.2196\/85720","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,8]],"date-time":"2025-12-08T13:40:06Z","timestamp":1765201206000},"page":"e85720-e85720","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Evaluating the Efficacy of Marma Therapy for Pain in Lumbar Disc Herniation With Radiculopathy: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial"],"prefix":"10.2196","volume":"15","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3326-2165","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Pallavi","family":"Mundada","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sunil Kumar","family":"Joshi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6310-6505","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Shruti","family":"Khanduri","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2324-0520","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Tarun","family":"Kumar","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6457-4298","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Varsha","family":"Saxena","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6265-8153","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Disha","family":"Garg","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0003-7201-5818","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Vinod Kumar","family":"Lavaniya","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1714-0697","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Rakesh","family":"Narayanan V","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9685-5788","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Bidhan","family":"Mahajon","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5408-3225","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Bhogavalli Chandra Sekhara","family":"Rao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3976-4978","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Narayanam","family":"Srikanth","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1010","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,4]]},"reference":[{"issue":"6","key":"R1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e316","DOI":"10.1016\/S2665-9913(23)00098-X","article-title":"Global, regional, and national burden of low back pain, 1990-2020, its attributable risk factors, and projections to 2050: a systematic analysis of the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021","volume":"5","author":"GBD 2021 Low Back Pain Collaborators","journal-title":"Lancet Rheumatol"},{"key":"R2","unstructured":"Low back pain. 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Marma Chikitsa: Basic Tenets in Ayurveda and Therapeutic Approaches. Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences, Ministry of Ayush, Government of India; 2020. URL: https:\/\/www.researchgate.net\/publication\/348751883_MARMA_CHIKITSA_-Basic_Tenets_in_Ayurveda_and_Therapeutic_Approaches [Accessed 29-03-2026]"},{"issue":"2","key":"R8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.7759\/cureus.55198","article-title":"Efficacy of integrated yoga and naturopathy with physiotherapy or acupuncture for low back pain: a parallel, two-arm, randomized trial","volume":"16","author":"Mudda","journal-title":"Cureus"},{"key":"R9","unstructured":"Trayodashang guggulu. In: The Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia of India: Part 1. 2nd ed. Government of India, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Department of Indian Systems of Medicine and Homoeopathy; 210. 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