An Overview on Natūl therapy (therapeutic irrigation) and its importance in Unani System of Medicine
Abstract
Unani System of Medicine takes entire constitution of the individual and lifestyle into account for prescribing treatment. It provides radical and safe cure for various chronic and lifestyle disorders. USM incorporates ´Ilāj bi’l Tadbīr (Regimenal therapy) as a treatment plan as well as the modification in Asbāb Sitta Ḍarūriyya (six essential factors) through certain interventions. Natūl therapy, also known as therapeutic irrigation is one of the classical and effective method in regimenal therapy, which refers to pouring or dripping of liquid slowly and steadily over a body part from a pre-fixed height. Usually decoctions of drugs and medicated oils are used for this purpose. Natūl is done with a purpose of acceleration of process of Tanqiya Mawād-i-Fāsida (evacuation of morbid materials), Imāla-e-Mawād (diversion of matter) and Ta’dīl Mizāj-i-Aʻḍāʼ (normalization of morbid temperament). It also works by local absorption of medicines at the site. The benefits achieved are the combination of neurological effects, psychological effects and pharmacological actions of the procedure and the drugs used. It is specifically useful as an adjuvant treatment in the management of nervous system disorders like headache, insomnia, migraine, amnesia, melancholia, vertigo, epilepsy etc; and also in various other disorders like cystitis, mastitis, arthralgia etc. These therapeutic effects are achieved either by kayfiyāt (quality) of liquid or the constituents of the formulation used in the procedure. Natūl therapy also exhibits analgesic effect, thereby, suppressing musculoskeletal problems such as wajaʻal-mafāṣil (osteoarthritis), wajaʻal-ẓahr (low backache), wajaʻal-aẓlāt (myalgia), ʻirq al-nasā (sciatica), etc. The need of the hour is to further evaluate these age-old prescriptions on modern parameters, thus, highlighting its clinical importance in light of classical Unani literature.
Keywords: Natūl, ´Ilāj bi’l Tadbīr, Sakūb, Tadbīr, Unani, Joshānda
Keywords:
Natūl, ´Ilāj bi’l Tadbīr, Sakūb, Tadbīr, Unani, JoshāndaDOI
https://doi.org/10.22270/jddt.v15i1.6948References
1. Rahman R, Pasha SA, Katoch DC, et al. Unani System of Medicine The Science of Health and Healing. New Delhi: Department of AYUSH Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Govt. of India. 2013;14,39-44
2. Sina I. Al Qanoon Fil Tibb (Translation by Ghulam Hussain Kantoori). Lahore: Book Printers. 1992;1:264
3. Kabiruddin M. Kulliyat-e-Qanoon. Lahore: Sheikh Mohd Bashir and Sons. 1930;1&2:311
4. Geelani G. Makhzanul Murakkabat. New Delhi: Aijaz Publishing House. 1995;382-4
5. Kabiruddin M. Kulliyat-e-Qanoon. New Delhi: Aijaz Publishing House. 2006;1&2:311
6. Mushtaq S, Jabeen A, Fasihuzzaman, et al. Insomnia and its management in Unani Medicine. Int. J Adv Pharmacy Med Bioallied Sci. 2014;2(1):51-3
7. Nayab M, Khan F, Ansari AN, Khan TN, Itrat M. Nutūl as an effective and time tested regimenal modality in Unani system of medicine: An Overview. Journal of Drug Delivery and Therapeutics. 2021 May 15;11(3):132-7.
8. Sina I. Al Qanoon Fil Tib (Urdu translation by Kantoori GH). New Delhi: Idara Kitab us Shifa. 2010;1:220
9. Azam R, Mushtaq S, Fassihuzaman AJ, Zaidi Z, Alam S. Nutool (Irrigation)-An effective mode of treatment in Ilaj bit Tadbeer (Regimenal therapy). Indo American Journal of Pharm Research. 2014;4(12):5787-91.
10. Azam R, Nisar S, Jabeen A, Jilani S, Jahangir U, Parveen S. Nutool therapy (irrigation) and its practical applications in unani system of medicine. World Journal of Pharmaceutical Research. 2016;5(11):599-607.
11. Uebaba K, Xu FH, Tagawa M, et al. Using a healing robot for the scientific study of shirodhara. Altered states of consciousness and decreased anxiety through Indian dripping oil treatments. IEEE Eng Med Biol Magazine. 2005;24(2):69-78. PMid:15825848 https://doi.org/10.1109/MEMB.2005.1411351
12. Uebaba K, Xu FH, Ogawa H, et al. Psychoneuroimmunologic effects of Ayurvedic oil-dripping treatment. The journal of alternative and complementary medicine. 2008;14(10):1189-98. PMid:19123874 https://doi.org/10.1089/acm.2008.0273
13. Kumar SH, Neetu S, Dutta SV, et al. An Approach to Understand the Mechanism of Action of Shirodhara. Tejas: The Edgy Journal of Alive Sciences. 2014; 2(2):39-42
14. Fazil M, Akram M, Kapoor P. General Hypochondriasis in Diabetes Mellitus Type-II (DM-II): Implications for Clinicians. GJMEDPH. 2013;2(3):1-11
15. Haji A, Anwar M, Ansari AN, Sofi G, Shah AH. Effect of massage with roghan seer in motor recovery in hemiplegia secondary to ischaemic stroke. Indian journal of traditional knowledge. 2011;10(4):731-5
16. Khan MA. Aksee-re-Azam (Translation by Kabiruddin). New Delhi: Idara Kitab-us-Shifa. 2011;33,34,38,78,108,115,147,157, 331,719,732
17. Tabri R. Firdaus Al-Hikmat (translation by Ashraf Nadvi). New Delhi: CCRUM. 2010;391
18. Nikhat S, Fazil M. An analytical review on Nutool (Irrigation) therapy. Journal of Drug Delivery and Therapeutics. 2015;5(5):1-4. https://doi.org/10.22270/jddt.v5i5.1127
19. Jurjani AH. Zakhira Khwar-zam Shahi. New Delhi: Idara Kitab us Shifa. 2010;2(6):31
20. Tabri M. Al-Moalijat Al-Buqratiyah (translation by Tabri). New Delhi: CCRUM. 1995;1:424
21. Zuhr I. Kitab-al-Taisir. New Delhi: CCRUM. 1986;164
22. Khan A. Haziq. New Delhi: Ruby printing press. 1983;395
23. Baghdadi IH. Kitab Al-Mukhtarat Fit-Tibb (CCRUM, trans). New Delhi: CCRUM. 2004;3:11,119
Published



How to Cite
Issue
Section
Copyright (c) 2025 Amreen, Mohammad Tauheed Khan

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0). that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).