"Most Back Surgeries Are Preventable – If You Treated the Marma Trauma Early" . Back pain isn't just about slipped discs and old age. It's about missed warning signs.
- Dr Rakesh VG
- Aug 4
- 4 min read
By Dr Rakesh Ayureshmi, Ayureshmi Ayurveda Wellness Centre, Kollam, Kerala, India
Why Are We Operating on What Could’ve Been Healed?
What if 70% of back surgeries were not only unnecessary but completely preventable? What if your spinal degeneration isn’t really from aging, but from years of suppressed trauma, untreated marma injury, and chronic postural abuse? As a world-renowned expert in Ayurveda, marma therapy, and chiropractic care, I assert this: most spinal fusions, discectomies, and laminectomies are reactions to what we neglected years ago. And the time to change that pattern is now.
The Silent Origin of Spinal Collapse
It's Not Aging. It's Accumulated Trauma.
We’ve been misled to believe that spinal degeneration is an inevitable part of aging. But clinical evidence tells a different story. A 2015 study published in The American Journal of Neuroradiology found disc degeneration in 37% of asymptomatic 20-year-olds and over 80% of people above 50 – yet most of them had no pain. So, why are some people crippled by back pain while others with worse MRIs walk pain-free?
The answer lies in unaddressed marma trauma – micro-injuries to the body’s energy points that disrupt the subtle neuro-muscular and pranic balance. When you sprained your back lifting something heavy and "walked it off"… when you had that emotional breakdown and your upper back locked up… when your job forced you into 10 hours of slouching every day – those injuries didn't go away. They just went deeper.
Marma Points: The Forgotten Language of Your Spine
Your Body Screams Before It Breaks
In Ayurveda, 107 marma points are the vital junctures where muscles, bones, ligaments, nerves, and energy (prana) intersect. Think of them as the circuit breakers of your nervous system. Trauma—physical or emotional—locks up these points. When left untreated, they create structural compensation, altered gait, muscle imbalances, and finally disc herniation or facet joint degeneration.
In 600 AD, Acharya Sushruta wrote in Sushruta Samhita:
“Marma-vyatha leads to vata prakopa and subsequent sthanik shoola (localized pain), which becomes granthi (pathological swelling or lesion) if neglected.”
This ancient principle now aligns with modern fascia science and neuroplasticity. A single unresolved marma trauma can shift posture, inflame nerves, and create chronic pain syndromes.
The Real Villain? Suppressed Emotions and Nervous System Overload
Back Pain Is the Body’s Cry for Nervous System Safety
The spine isn’t just a mechanical structure – it’s the emotional backbone of your being. Chronic stress, grief, guilt, and anxiety tighten the thoracolumbar fascia, alter breathing patterns, and increase cortisol, leading to inflammatory cascades and heightened pain perception.
Studies in Pain Medicine (2020) showed that people with adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are 3x more likely to suffer from chronic back pain in adulthood – independent of imaging findings.
Ayurveda knew this long ago. Manovaha srotas dushti (disturbance in the mental pathways) is often cited in classical texts as a causative factor in vata vitiation – the dosha primarily responsible for pain, stiffness, and degeneration.
The Slippery Slope: From Ignored Strain to the Operating Table
How “Small” Injuries Become Surgical Emergencies
Here’s the cycle I’ve seen in thousands of patients:
1. Minor marma trauma (accident, emotional overload, postural stress)
2. Compensatory patterns – altered movement, stiffness, pain on one side
3. Structural changes – disc bulge, scoliosis, nerve compression
4. Medical mismanagement – painkillers, injections, temporary relief
5. Surgical suggestion – often without addressing the root cause
But when marma therapy is applied early, before imaging reveals irreversible degeneration, we see incredible recoveries. By resetting pranic flow, correcting neuromuscular compensation, and restoring agni (digestive and cellular intelligence), the body heals itself.
Evidence-Based Alternatives to Spinal Surgery
The Power of Integrative, Non-Invasive Healing
Modern science now confirms what Ayurveda has long known – early physical and energetic correction prevents chronic disease.
A meta-analysis in The Spine Journal (2018) found that spinal manipulation and active therapy were more effective than surgery for chronic low back pain, with far fewer complications.
Studies on yoga therapy for disc prolapse patients showed significant reduction in pain and disability index after 12 weeks of consistent practice.
In my clinical practice, combining marma therapy, chiropractic adjustments, basti (Ayurvedic enemas), and emotional release work has helped thousands of patients avoid the knife.
The Future of Spine Health Lies in Early Energy Correction
Back surgery should be the last resort – not the first option. But to prevent it, we must listen earlier, feel deeper, and act sooner. Your body always speaks – in tension, in fatigue, in stiffness. Don't wait until it screams.
If you’ve had chronic back pain, unresolved trauma, or even subtle tension in your neck or lower back, don’t ignore it. Seek a qualified Ayurvedic or marma therapist. Get assessed holistically. Your future mobility depends on it.
Final Takeaway: Your Spine Is Not Broken – It’s Asking to Be Heard
Pain is not the problem. Pain is the message.
And if you decode the message early – through marma, through posture correction, through emotional healing – you can rewrite the ending. No rods. No scars. Just resilience.
Let us move from a world of surgeries to a world of samyak chikitsa – timely, wise, root-cause healing.
"Most Back Surgeries Are Preventable. Don’t wait for the MRI to say ‘damage done’. Your body has been whispering the warnings for years. Listen now. Heal early. Treat the marma trauma before it becomes medical drama."
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