Keep these homeopathic remedies in your sports kit to ease bumps, bruises, sprains, strains and more, says homeopath David Needleman
If the recent Olympics and Paralympics have inspired you to take up a new sport or return to a sport you previously enjoyed, make sure you’ve done your research when it comes to preventing and treating injuries.
Remember that professional athletes always prepare their bodies and minds using many methods. They follow specialized diets and nutritional programs, practice optimal hydration and sleep hygiene, and rely on comprehensive personalized training regimes that include appropriate warmups, cooldowns, and rest and recovery periods.
In the amateur world—when you don’t have 24-hour access to a personal coach, physio, doctor or sports nutritionist—it’s important to take steps to prevent injuries. Be sure to warm up correctly for your particular sport and build up levels of activity gradually.
If an injury does occur, however, homeopathy can be a helpful treatment if you have the right remedy on hand.
Sports injuries, particularly chronic ones, may require other treatment or therapies, such as physiotherapy, osteopathy or chiropractic intervention, in addition to homeopathic support. And serious injuries, like concussions and broken bones, require immediate medical attention. But homeopathy can be a useful first port of call to ease symptoms fast.
Here’s a roundup of some of the most common sports injuries and the homeopathic remedies I use to treat them. If you or a family member is regularly involved in sport, it’s a good idea to keep these handy in your car or sports bag so you can act quickly.
Apis Mel 30C is an effective remedy for injuries that occur from repetitively using the same parts of the body, such as tennis elbow (lateral epicondylitis), golfer’s elbow (medial epicondylitis) or bursitis (swelling of a bursa, one of the fluid-filled sacs that cushion your joints).
The remedy helps reduce pain and swelling as well as the redness that often accompanies these situations.
Arnica Montana, when given quickly, reduces shock and bruising. I’ve seen bumps that come up almost immediately after a collision visibly shrink with the administration of Arnica. It’s also useful for stemming the flow of blood from cuts, grazes and bites.
The one caveat is that Arnica shouldn’t be used in people who are on anti-coagulant treatments, as it can thin the blood. In those cases I use Bellis Perennis instead.
ARR is a combination remedy available from most homeopathic pharmacies. Made up of Arnica, Ruta Grav and Rhus Tox, it’s excellent for any injury involving the muscles, tendons, ligaments or joint capsules. For example, it may help when you’ve landed awkwardly or heavily as well as when you’ve suffered twisting injuries and blows to the knees or elbows.
Bumps, bruises, cuts and grazes also respond well to ARR. It’s available in 30C or 200C potencies. I usually prefer 200C for acute sports injuries, but 30C will do if that’s what you have.
If you have an injury in which the pain or stiffness is worse when moving, I would also add the remedy Bryonia to the ARR mix.
Rhus Toxicodendron combined with Arnica, Bellis Perennis or Apis Mel works well for impact wounds. Try it for injuries like being hit by a cricket ball or by someone’s boot while playing football, especially if the affected body part is a joint and there’s swelling.
A potency of 200C is best for Rhus Toxicodendron, Arnica and Bellis Perennis, while Apis is usually better in 30C. The ideal dosage is often one dose an hour for four hours, then one dose three times a day if continued dosing is needed.
A dislocation, when a bone slips out of a joint, requires immediate medical attention. It needs to be treated by someone with training in repositioning the bone or limb. But in the meantime, take Arnica or Bellis as soon as possible to help with symptoms.
Homeopathy can be used alongside conventional treatment for broken bones. Remedies for breaks of all kinds usually begin with Arnica and may be followed by remedies to encourage the granulation or healing of the bone.
I like to use Symphytum, also called knit bone (for obvious reasons). However, it should be used only when the bones are correctly aligned.
The dosage regime that I use most often is 30C twice a day for about 10 days, and I often add a combination of the following, all in 6X or 12X potencies. Take two in the morning and evening for one to two months:
This aids the body in absorbing calcium from the diet and using it correctly to make new, healthy, flexible bone. The breaks heal and the bones grow stronger without the brittleness often caused by pharmaceutical treatments.
Concussion should always be taken very seriously, and you need to be examined carefully by a doctor if you receive a blow to the head.
In homeopathy, the number one remedy for concussion, or for someone who has not been well since suffering a blow to the head, is Natrum Sulphuricum. For acute events, 200C is perfect.
I’ve used the remedy successfully myself. I slipped and hit my head on the marble floor of a swimming pool at the age of 12 and subsequently suffered from weekly migraines for 30 years. When I qualified as a homeopath, I prescribed myself a single dose of Natrum Sulphuricum 10M (a much higher potency, equal to 10,000C), and since then I haven’t had a single migraine.
Natrum Sulphuricum is also a very useful first aid remedy for a stroke, which could be categorized as a blow to the head from the inside.
Acute symptoms come on suddenly and last a short time, while chronic symptoms develop gradually and last for months or years. Chronic conditions require ongoing treatment.
Acute symptoms
Sudden, severe pain
Extreme swelling
Bruising
Inability to put weight on an area or joint
Inability to move normally
Extreme weakness or sudden tiredness
Unusual appearance (for example, a broken limb can look strange)
Chronic symptoms
Pain on exercise
Swelling
Dull aches that don’t seem to resolve
Lethargy
Tiredness
Headaches
Impaired or unusual vision
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