Dr. Sandra Szymanski (D)

Neurologist and senior hospitalist
Dr. Sandra Szymanski is the head physician of the Department of Neurology and (Ayurvedic) Complementary Medicine at the Evangelisches Krankenhaus Hattingen, which was founded in 2008 by Prof. H. Przuntek, initially as an outpatient center. From 2009, she worked as a senior physician in the department and played a key role in developing and expanding inpatient care before taking over as overall director in 2020. Her neurological training previously took place over many years at St-Josef-Hospital, Klinikum der Ruhr-Universität Bochum. With its unique, holistic and integrative concept, the certified special department for Parkinson's treats about 600 patients per year, very successfully combining Western and Ayurvedic medicine, also in the field of multiple sclerosis. In addition to clinical activities, she develops scientific projects together with the Ayurvedic physicians of the department, cooperation partner is among others the AYUSH Ministry / CCRAS (MoU), and gives lectures for patients and professional audience in Germany and India.

Orthodox medicine and Ayurveda - an integrative treatment concept in neurology

Year: 2023

Show description of the seminar

For 15 years, the Department of Neurology and Complementary Medicine at the Protestant Hospital in Hattingen has focused on treating patients with chronic neurodegenerative and neuroinflammatory diseases such as Parkinson's syndromes and multiple sclerosis. In addition to conventional medical diagnostics and therapy based on the latest scientific findings, we also use traditional Indian medicine/Ayurveda with great success as part of a complex, inpatient treatment concept. In addition to optimal medication, physiotherapy/occupational therapy and speech therapy, our patients receive an individual Ayurvedic treatment program, the indication and planning of which is carried out by Ayurvedic physicians (B.A.M.S.) trained in Kerala. This includes a wide variety of external treatments, the use of Ayurvedic medicines internally and externally, as well as Panchakarma and Marma therapy, supplemented by yoga and meditation. In addition, the diet is vegetarian according to Ayurvedic principles.

We observe sustainable therapy successes with regard to quality of life with improvement of general well-being as well as of motor and non-motor disease symptoms in the sense of positive, synergistic treatment effects with high therapy compliance. The course of the disease is positively influenced as well as the intestinal microbiome. Certain individual symptoms, such as hyposmia, which cannot be treated by conventional medicine or can only be treated inadequately, are successfully treated with Ayurveda as a stand-alone therapy. This has been proven in our own scientific studies.