This article on injuries and first-aid homeopathy was written for Cambridge City Connect, and is re-published on this website. Thierry Clerc practices in Cambridge (UK) as a clinical homeopath and a nutritionist. He is a regular contributor of several national and international health magazines.
What is a bruise?
A bruise, also called a contusion or an ecchymosis happens when a part of the body is struck and the muscle fibres and connective tissue underneath are crushed but the skin doesn’t break.
When this occurs, blood from the ruptured vessels near the skin’s surface escapes by leaking out under the skin. With no place to go, the blood gets trapped, forming a red or purplish mark and it is tender because of the swelling.
A bruise changes colour over time because our body will have been alerted by the shock, and start breaking down and reabsorbing the blood, which causes the bruise to eventually disappears. A bruise is usually not dangerous and will take from 2 to 14 days to go, depending on the severity of the shock and the vitality of the patient.
If people have a tendency to bruise easily or that the bruise usually do not heal fast, there can be an underlying issue. The main causes are weak thyroid (especially if the person tend to be chilly or have cold extremities), chronic stress or calcium/magnesium imbalance. In all these cases, the immune response is usually reduced.
In homeopathy, the traditional remedy is Arnica. It is the most recommended remedy for most injuries and bruises. It may not work as well as other remedies in some cases, such as when the bruising is in the head, at the joint or affecting deep-tissues, but it is said to help in 95% of cases. Arnica was used by herbalists, and is still used very commonly as a cream for trauma or bruises. In homeopathy, it is potentised and given internally in forms of pills.
Welleda, the biggest British maker of homeopathic remedies claims that 50% of the Premier League Football Teams buy its Arnica. Also, the French Football team that won the World Cup in 1998 and the European Cup in 2000 had a conventional doctor firmly convinced about homeopathy for acute, including Arnica 9C for shock. This is how good it is. Check his name on Internet – Jean-Marcel Ferret. Finally, Germany, a country well ahead of Britain in terms of integrated medicine, uses a lot homeopathy in professional sports.
If Homeopathy is good for professional sports-people, it is good enough for us!