About two weeks ago I broke my right big toe. I don't even know how it happened - but after loading an oven/range into our neighbors' house and then loading firewood into mine, my toe started to hurt. I took my boot off and it was throbbing and swollen. I iced it for 30, and while doing so, began my usual route for healing: intuitive check-in, muscle-testing, and resources.
Within a a few hours it was black and blue and I was on task. The general consensus is that there's not a lot you can do for a broken toe except rest and ice. But in the natural solutions world, there's always way more you can do. The prognosis was 4 to 6 weeks recovery, and I was leaving for a ski vacation in 8 days, so my plan was to "throw the book at it," meaning to support my body in all ways possible for the quickest recovery possible.
The first 24 hours, I iced every 30 to 60 minutes for 15 minutes, and each time I took Arnica Montana in the oral homeopathy at 200c potency. Arnica is well known and widely used for acute injuries and inflammation, as well as shock. It's a remedy that can very quickly halt the decline of tissue breakdown during injury, and should be taken as quickly as possible (within the first 30min), and often. To save on cost, you can take 3 pellets vs the 5 it recommends on the bottle (you let the pellets dissolve under the tongue) or you can make a larger batch of the remedy in a water bottle, dropping 3-5 pellets into the water, and then "succussing" the water and homeopathy together by shaking the bottle against something like your hand or a couch 100 times to get the molecules to combine.
In those first few hours while combing my resources, I found 3 other homeopathic remedies to include with the Arnica: (1)
- Ruta graveolens (common rue) - This remedy is known for its effect on bone-bruises and on injuries to the periosteum (the covering of the bones); both of these types of trauma are involved when a fracture of a bone occurs. Ruta is also indicated when the pain around a fracture is extreme, and the person feels lame or weak. This remedy is also helpful in many cases when pain persists after treatment with Arnica.
- Symphytum officinale (comfrey) - This accelerates the formation of callus and relieves the pain from the bone trauma. The native Americans name for comfrey is "knitbone" and it is my go-to remedy for injuries. See below for an additional application.
- Bryonia Alba (white bryony) - This remedy may help to bring relief if excruciating pain results from even the slightest motion. The person usually wants to remain completely still and not be touched or interfered with. Bryonia is also a personal remedy, it seems to come up for me for many of my health issues from headaches to tummy aches, so when it showed up for this, I was not surprised. This is one of the magic things about plant medicine, we have our own personal allies, and plants have multiple uses.
- hydration with minerals - I made a point to drink about 30 ounces more than I usually drink (which should be about half our body weight in ounces, although I don't always hit that mark), so for me, that's about 100 ounces per day. This can be in water or herbal tea.
- and nutrient stacking - I have been using this nutrient powerhouse as my foundation for health since 2014 and when my body needs more, I take more. So I tripled the recommended dose for 2 days, then doubled for the rest of the week.
- Additional ways to stack in the nutrients are: eat lots of fresh and cooked vegetables, which I took in soups and salads mostly; and herbal teas, which for me included my newly formulated "Everyday Health" blend of dandelion, elderberry, nettle, red clover, ginger and rose hips.
(1) Peacehealth.org
Comments
Post a Comment