Homoeopathy for Sports, Exercise and Dance

Review

This book review is reprinted with the permission of the National Center for Homeopathy

Reviewed by Jonice Owen, DC, FACO, CHom

TO DATE, I KNOW OF five modern homeopathic texts that provide comprehensive coverage of exercise and sports related injuries or the musculoskeletal system. In my opinion, Homeopathy for Sports, Exercise and Dance by Emlyn Thomas is the text of choice.

This book is a good cover-to-cover read: simple yet thorough, diverse yet focused, and always interesting. It is invaluable to both newcomers and veteran homeopaths and could be confidently recommended to sports-minded friends and family, athletes, health care practitioners, and health food store/pharmacy workers who would like to become better informed on the subject. Homoeopathy for Sports, Exercise and Dance has excellent explanations of how injuries occur, what happens to the soft tissue following an injury, and possible homeopathic interventions. Thomas's "hands-on" approach is oriented towards the general public, encouraging sports enthusiasts to jump in and become familiar with this safe, natural, and effective therapeutic intervention.

As a chiropractor well versed in this arena, I especially enjoyed spotting homeopathic remedies I don't commonly consider in the treatment of specific musculoskeletal injuries. As a totality-oriented homeopath, I am familiar with these remedies but have not seen them applied in this way. My short list would include: Piper methysticum (for exhaustion from exercise; one dose
reportedly allows continued exercise without fatigue); Badigia (bruised soreness of heel and anterior leg); Guaiacum (torn meniscus and painful knees, worse from heat, touch, and sitting; worse in the morning); Lac defloratum (constipation and related digestive complaints); and Sticta pulmonaria bursitis, injury to bursa, and coughing).

A strong point of the book is the variety if injuries covered and the commonsense
approach to intervention. Recommendations are made regarding appropriate "conventional" and "alternative" intervention for a
ride variety of sports and exercise-related conditions. There is an ease to the text which will lend a sense of calm in first-aid
situations. Case studies are found throughout the text. Thomas' clear, simple, yet illuminating descriptions of the person, the injury, the selection of the remedy, the potency used, and the follow-up are very useful.

A hallmark of the book is the respect paid to Arnica, a remedy that we all know, love, and sometimes downplay. It is our
most famous remedy and its profound pact may be overlooked once we are introduced to the rest of the homeopathic pharmacopoeia. This book introduces (or reintroduces) Arnica and its often-used companions, inspiring our interest (and
restoring/enhancing the passion that led us to pursue homeopathic study).

Drawbacks that come to mind are: the author's prescription style, the lack of visual illustrations, and the book's orientation towards a U.K. audience. To elaborate: Some homeopaths may disagree with Mr. Thomas' treatment method preferring texts that separate the remedy from the potency used; however, his vast experience treating these injuries and his inclusion of the
whole person model make up for this, in my opinion. Unfortunately, this is a text book, with no visual enhancements, so reference to adjunct books may be necessary. Lastly, as the author is a Welsh homeopath, this text is written for U.K. readers, with, for example, references to sports more commonly found in the U.K. (There are also many references to treatment by osteopathic physicians. As a chiropractic physician, I was aware that osteopaths are more prevalent in the U.K. and chiropractic physicians are more prevalent in the U.S.; this text confirms that for me.)

For our own overall health and that of our friends, family, clients, and patients, physical exercise and sports are recommended to whatever extent possible. However, injuries may occur due to age, fitness level, accidents, etc., and that's where homeopathy can help. Homoeopathy for Sports, Exercise and Dance is a readable book and an excellent addition to anyone's library.

This article is reprinted from The Homoeopath with permission from Nick Churchill of The Society of Homoeopaths.

Reviewed by Katherine Armitage

This is a beautifully produced, compact handbook full of easily accessible information, written by a man with years of homeopathic experience and who is himself no stranger to physical endurance, having led major expeditions to many great mountain ranges, including the Himalayas, and served as a physical education officer with the RAF for many years.

As well as for the homeopath, and for anybody who participates in sport or dance, at whatever level, this book is intended for club managers, coaches and dance directors, who, it is hoped, once familiar with the contents, will be able to maintain their team, club or company's performance by ensuring more effective recovery from injury and overstrain and by using homeopathy to maximise their athletes' potential.

As this book is intended to be used by anybody, with or without knowledge of homeopathy, to treat quite complex and simple sports, exercise and dance injuries, the first five chapters map out the homoeopathic principles and how to use them. There are plenty of relevant case examples, starting with classic Rhus tox and Arnica cases, which are echoed by other equally apt cases throughout the book that give very clear illustrations of these, and ninety or so other first aid and constitutional remedies.

The next two chapters show how to apply homoeopathy in traumatic injury and first aid and in overuse injuries and conditions. All the information given is clear, well laid out and easy to understand. The pages outlining the contents of the book are comprehensive, as are the remedy and general index for cross-referencing.

Chapter 8 is packed with suggestions for 'Local treatment for specific injuries'. Emlyn says 'It has often been my experience that the person's constitutional remedy heals more effectively than the specific remedy. However, the specific remedy will often serve the practitioner of other therapies who wants to choose a remedy to relieve a patient's immediate symptoms and promote recovery.' Throughout the book he emphasises the choice of remedies for the whole person rather than for a specific injury or condition. In this chapter he goes through each part of the body in detail, listing various injuries and suggested treatments, referring the reader forward and backward in the book for descriptions of remedies, so as not to be too repetitive. However, there is also plenty of repetition of key information, e.g. points of philosophy, such as when to repeat a remedy and facts about the remedies, to give a confident grounding as to what to prescribe and when.

To give an example, pages 112 to 129 are devoted to the knee, the most frequent source of injury in sport. The section starts with the case of a skier who fell on a very steep slope, and was diagnosed with a torn medial ligament. He was seen on return from his holiday, having been very disconsolate. After Arnica 30c, one every hour for a day, followed by Ruta 30c three times in one day, he was immediately less depressed and allowed his wife to remove his strapping and take back his crutches. With physiotherapy and exercises he was back at work and exercising fully within a week. Emlyn stresses the importance of a medical diagnosis where necessary, physiotherapy and RICE (rest, ice, compression, elevation) or other appropriate therapy, but he effectively demonstrates over and over again, with his case examples, how homoeopathy can help speed up the process of recovery, regardless of the diagnosis, and change a patient's mental and emotional state for the better.

In the knee section he covers anterior knee pain, patellofemoral pain (runner's knee), haematoma, infrapatellar tendinitis, Osgood- Schlatter disease (which is apparently as painful as it sounds, caused by repetitive strenuous exertion), collateral ligament injuries, with a case, and first-stage and second-stage remedies. He covers long-term effects of knee injury, iliotibial band syndrome, torn meniscus, torn cruciate ligament (it was at this point that I reached for my anatomy book and felt excited at looking at the knee!), before knee surgery, after knee surgery, bursae and bursitis and posterior knee pain. Other areas of the body are covered in equal detail and many of the smaller remedies come into their own: Rhododendron, Chelidonium for the right shoulder, Plumbum metallicum for tenosynovitis of the wrist and forearm, Aesculus hippocastanum and Variolinum for sacroiliac injuries, to name but a few.

Chapter 9 is full of tips for treating common conditions (diarrhoea, coughs etc.), useful for a dance company or sports team away on tour, and it's great to have all the information in one volume. Chapter 10 is a mini materia medica of all the remedies mentioned in the book. The final chapters cover 'Susceptibility to Injury' and 'Enhanced Performance'. Emlyn says: 'There can be no question that professional dancers rank among the fittest and most dedicated of physical performers. It is among the most demanding forms of human movement and, as such, increases our knowledge of what the human body can achieve under stress'. He explores how homoeopathy, as well as helping with recovery, can aid development.

He gives the case of an 18- year-old rugby player who came because of an ankle injury. He suffered from frequent sprains. He looked big and strong (6 feet tall and 200lbs) he worked hard at his training, but his strength and power were much less that his build suggested and 'his muscles were soft and lacking in tone'. His coach described him as 'flabby'. He displayed other symptoms of Calcarea carbonica: he could be obstinate at times and take offence at slight remarks, and then would sit alone and sulk. After a couple of doses of Calcarea carbonica 1M, 'His ankle recovered quickly and after two months the coach reported that his game had improved. He seemed stronger and fitter. The following season he was a changed player. His body shape had firmed up, his speed around the field had improved, and he had lost his flabbiness. He went on to play at a good standard and realised his potential'. The whole book is peppered with anecdotes of Emlyn's sensitive experience, and there is a feeling of a deep love of the human form and what it can achieve if properly cared for!

Chapter 13 gives a short overview of other therapies, and would be helpful in deciding which treatment would complement homoeopathy.

Being a keen tennis player and cycling daily in London I know how much importance I attach to keeping fit and recovering quickly if I am injured. I think that this would be an invaluable book for any homoeopath, any household, school, sports or dance club and even for hospital Accident and Emergency departments. If they could see how well homoeopathy worked in shock and trauma their job would be made so much easier and the grassroots publicity for homoeopathy would be phenomenal. I hope that it is widely distributed so that it achieves its aims, as I think that it has been very well planned, researched and put together.

The Homeopath
Number 77 - Spring 2000

This book review is reprinted with permission from Volume 16, Summer 2003 Edition of Homeopathic Links.

Reviewed by Cor van der Meij, The Netherlands

Being a long distance runner myself, Emlyn Thomas's book on the homeopathic treatment of sports injuries was one to have, read and, not last, to use in practice. The book is based on a long period of practical experience with homeopathy, since 1976 as a physical education officer in the famous (British) Royal Air Force. The book is divided in two parts:

1. An outline on theory and practice of homeopathy
2. Applying homeopathy in practice (i.e. sports injuries)

In both parts a lot of cases are discussed. Thomas is very clear in defining the power of homeopathy in (sports) injuries: 'A homeopathic remedy speeds the recovery of the patient at all levels (physical, mental, emotional and general state).' Furthermore he defines the limitations: 'Homeopathy can not mend a broken tendon, or a broken bone, but recovery will be faster and more complete by the right remedy. Thomas emphasises the power of the right remedy on both the physical and the mental level. In an original way he describes the self-healing power of a living organism, calling it 'The healer within': 'When someone is ill or injured, his organism is "detuned" like a piano which has been damaged... the "tuner" for a living organism is within that same organism…’ Hahnemann called this the Vital Force.'

As in our daily practice Thomas divides sports injuries in acute and chronic conditions. There is also a paragraph on the 'Constitution'. Again the way Thomas describes this is almost poetic: 'We regard the constitution as the physiological canvas on which the psychological activities of life are painted and enacted. It is the physical carrier of the vital force and the fundamental basis for expression of all the wishes and intentions of the individual. All the feelings of health, joy, harmony and love are expressed through the constitution, as are those of envy, jealousy, anger, anxiety and disease. The constitution carries the relics of past trauma, disease, grief and other influences, often going back for a generation or more.'

Thomas is a true realist: 'Homeopathic remedies are not miraculous cure-ails. They cannot replace torn ligaments, repair a damaged meniscus, or regenerate deteriorated joints. For some conditions, including many sports injuries, homeopathic medicine can only accompany other medical care. For example, homeopathy can speed up the repair of a fracture as long as the bones have been set correctly. It can not replace corrective surgery when its need has been diagnosed'. Then there is a chapter on homeopathic symptomatology, in which Thomas states that it is important to have a diagnosis from a regular sports medicine practitioner. This is followed by a description of the methodology in recognising homeopathic symptoms: location, sensation (and interpretation, together with observation, including some questions to ask), concomitants and modalities (including recognising the patterns and the causation or maintaining causes). The following chapter is on 'Managing homeopathic treatment' in which attention is given to how to take the remedy, rules for prescribing, frequency, repeating, changing symptoms and if the remedy does not work.

The second part of the book starts with 'Traumatic injury and first aid', paying attention to inflammation and controlling bleeding, first aid remedies, head injuries, skin wounds, muscle tears, strains and sprains of tendons and ligaments, fractures and spinal injury. The following chapter is on overuse injuries and conditions, in which Thomas also pays attention to 'Warm up and down', which is an actual theme of discussion. In 2002 two Australians, Herbert and Gabriel, published a survey study on this subject in the British Medical Journal, concluding that no evidence was found on the positive effects of stretching in relation to sports injuries. Chapter 8 is on 'Local treatment for specific injuries', 9 on 'Treating common conditions' and 10 describes the main homeopathic remedies. Chapters 11, 12 and 13 are on 'Advanced uses of homeopathy' in which attention is paid on susceptibility to injury, enhanced performance and other complementary therapies and techniques.

Some final remarks:
1) Although Thomas mentions the most important remedies for a specific sports injury, you will sometimes notice that a particular remedy is missing. For example, for pain in the achilles tendon Calcarea carbonica, Colchicum, Ledum, Mercurius, Zincum and Ignatia (on exertion), can also be important remedies (Synthesis 8, Extremities, pain leg, tendo-achilles). So don't forget also to look in your repertory. Also it can be interesting to compare Thomas's solutions with those of Asa Hershoff in 'Homeopathy for muscosceletal healing' .
2) On page 103 Thomas states that the achilles tendon has no sheath. In my best opinion, this is not true, see e.g. the 'Merck Manuel' .

In my opinion, this 322 page book is a must for all colleagues who are more than superficial interested in applying homeopathy in cases of sports injuries.