By Richmond Natural Medicine

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August 6, 2019

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A constitutional homeopathic remedy can help ease chronic pain and improve quality of life. Homeopathics are selected by understanding details of the pain as well as who the person is as a whole.  

According to the National Institutes of Health, pain is the most common reason people seek care in the United States. In addition, pain impacts more individuals than heart disease, diabetes, and cancer combined*. Much like any other chronic illness, chronic pain presents in many ways. Ten different women can be diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis and feel pain but each may need a different homeopathic preparation based on their personal experience of symptoms. Homeopathic remedies are a gentle, yet powerful form of medicine that is safe to incorporate alongside pharmaceutical pain medication.

However, you’ll be surprised to find that when using homeopathy to aid in pain management it’s common to become less reliant on over-the-counter or prescription pain relievers over time. The naturopathic approach to pain means that your ND may use homeopathy to support both you and your pain, as opposed to just focusing on the pain.

The Basics of Assessing Pain

The following questions help us gather a basic understanding of your pain and may sound familiar to you. Monitoring changes in these parameters over time can help us track your healing:

–    Where is your pain?

–    When did it start? Was there an event you can recall that may have caused it?

–    Have you felt this pain before?

–    What makes it feel better or worse?

–    What does it feel like exactly?

–    Does your pain radiate anywhere? How severe is your pain?

–    Is there a time of day that it feels better or worse?  

Beyond the Basics

In supporting pain through homeopathy, we have additional elements to consider. Here is a sampling of what kinds of questions a naturopathic doctor may go on to ask you about your pain:

–    Movement and position: With pain, are you compelled to stretch and massage the area or are you averse to touch or pressure of any kind? Maybe you want to apply intense pressure and hold the painful area tight to avoid any jarring. Maybe you need to keep moving your body in a restless fashion to obtain some relief.

–    Speed of onset: Does your pain come on slowly or does it present suddenly?

–    Other symptoms: Are there other organ systems in the body that get aggravated in some way alongside the pain? For example, a patient may always get a fever with their pain or may experience relief from pain after diarrhea.

–    Sidedness: Is the pain always on the left or right side of the body? Did it once begin on one side and migrate to the other?

–    Mental/emotional component: When you’re in pain, do you want loved ones close or would you prefer to be alone? If someone consoles you, do you feel better or aggravated? With your pain, do you tend to feel particularly weepy, sad, angry or depressed?  

–    Environment and stress: Is there a particular social situation in which you feel your pain flare before or after?

Remedy Profile: Arnica

Many people are coming to understand that arnica can be used to help bruising-type pain or to heal strains and sprains. While this is true, there are many other remedies that can also support those symptoms. Looking closer at arnica, you’ll see when indeed it may be the indicated remedy and also recognize that it’s not always what’s best.

When someone has a pain that can be helped by homeopathic arnica, they will express physical, mental and emotional symptoms in a particular way*. After enduring an acute injury, there will be a feeling of shock and a strong aversion to having anyone touch the painful area. Due to the shock, the person may feel strongly that they can help themselves, even if there is a significant trauma present. With arnica, this person will return to being more in their body. Someone with chronic pain, like arthritis, who will benefit from arnica, often has a history of a shock or trauma. However, if they want that area touched and are seeking support from others, arnica is not our remedy!

To learn more about how naturopathic medicine and homeopathy can help you experience less pain and greater ease in your body, call our office at (804) 977-2634 or send us an appointment request here. RNM also offers additional services such as herbal medicine, acupuncture, and craniosacral therapy that are excellent complements to homeopathic support.

Read More About Our Use of Homeopathy

1. https://richmondnaturalmed.com/homeopathy-2/
2. https://richmondnaturalmed.com/classical-homeopathy-as-a-naturopathic-treatment/

Resources

1. https://report.nih.gov/nihfactsheets/ViewFactSheet.aspx?csid=57
2. https://nesh.com/what-is-dr-paul-herscus-cycles-segments-approach/