Nature’s Bruise Treatment
Swelling, bruising, and discomfort are unfortunate side effects of the more aggressive treatments and surgeries we offer at the office. The endpoints of these treatments are wonderful but while you’re sitting in the midst of the healing process most people will try pretty much anything to accelerate their downtime. Let’s just say that there’s not enough concealer on Earth to truly hide black eyes. Arnica Montana homeopathic supplements are often “prescribed” preoperatively in the hope to mitigate some of these aftereffects. The big question is: Does it work? It makes me think back to My Big Fat Greek Wedding where the dad insists on putting Windex on anything that ailed him. The anecdotal evidence is there but what about the scientific data?
Arnica Montana is a pretty orangey-yellow flower that grows high in the mountains of central Europe and Siberia. It’s been used for centuries to treat contusions, tissue injuries, bruises, and rheumatism. But what makes it work? Like many homeopathic remedies, the mechanism of action isn’t completely clear, but a common denominator among a lot of research is the anti-inflammatory properties of phytochemical compounds called helenalin and dihydrohelenalin. Long story short, these compounds deactivate essential metabolic enzymes that can cause inflammation.
After spending hours plowing through pubmed.gov and other research-based sites looking for definitive answers for the efficacy of Arnica Montana, I’m still at a draw. There are double-blind evaluations for arnica use after upper blepharoplasties, perioperative use for ecchymosis post-rhinoplasty, arnica clinical trials for pain management post-carpal tunnel surgery, post- knee surgery, for prevention of pain and swelling in hand surgery, the list goes on and on. For every study that seems to find and deliver positive results, there’s another saying that there was no difference between the arnica and the placebo group. It’s difficult to explain how homeopathy actually works so a lot of research just looks at whether or not it’s a placebo treatment.
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A super interesting meta-analysis published in The Lancet in 1997 took a deep dive into trying to figure out if homeopathic effects were, in fact, completely due to placebo. Do you know what they found out? That there was insufficient evidence from all the studies they looked at “that any single type of homeopathic treatment is clearly effective in any one clinical condition.”
Healing is inherently subjective. Some people just bounce back more quickly after surgery than others, but if they’re also taking arnica you can see how they might attribute that to their good outcome. This ultimately perpetuates the reputation of the supplement in a positive way. What I learned from this expedition is that it may work and it may not. It doesn’t hurt to take it but don’t expect it to be a silver bullet in your healing arsenal. Just because something worked well for a friend of yours doesn’t mean that you’re going to experience the same thing. Take the time to make smart, researched choices.