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Brief Reports are generally shorter than full-length articles and are meant to communicate new data. For consideration in this section, pilot studies, brief evaluations, and reviews should present authoritative information on the integration of complementary and alternative therapies with conventional medical practices.
Context * Arnica is commonly used by the public as a treatment for bruising and swelling.
Objective * To assess whether Arnica administration affects recovery from hand surgery.
Design * Double-blind, randomized comparison ofArnica administration versus placebo.
Setting * Specialist hand surgery unit at the Queen Victoria NHS Trust.
Participants * Thirty-seven patients undergoing bilateral endoscopic carpal-tunnel release between June 1998 and january 2000.
Intervention * Homeopathic Arnica tablets and herbal Arnica ointment compared to placebos.
Main Outcome Measures * Grip strength, wrist circumference, and perceived pain measured i and 2 weeks after surgery.
Results * No difference in grip strength or wrist circumference was found between the 2 groups. However, there was a significant reduction in pain experienced after2 weeks in the Arnica-treated group (P<.03).
Conclusions * The role of homeopathic and herbal agents for recovery after surgery merits further investigation. (Altern They Health Med. 2002;8(2):66-68)
Homeopathy is becoming increasingly popular with the public and with some doctors in the United Kingdom. Homeopathy was established in the late 18th and early 19th centuries by Dr Samuel Hahnemann, but the homeopathic approach to illness was recognized by Hippocrates, the father of medicine, as far back as the fifth century BC. The word homeopathy means "similar suffering." Hahnemann's main theory was that a substance that causes symptoms in a healthy person can be used to treat the same symptoms in an ill person.
Homeopathic medicines are prepared by taking a solution of the concentrated ingredient (mother tincture) and serially diluting it many times with succussion at each step (potentization). A 10-fold dilution is known as Dl potency (IX in US measurements). A further 10-fold dilution results in D2 (or 2X) potency, and so on. In potencies of D24 and higher, it is unlikely that even a single molecule of the mother tincture remains.
Many homeopathic practitioners recommend Arnica to relieve pain, bruising, and swelling. The mother tincture is extracted from an alpine plant, Arnica montana. The general public also uses Arnica as...