Most 35-year-old men wouldn't know that April is Homeopathy Awareness Month in Canada. But T. J. Singh does, "I know all about it."
This young man, age 35, attends the annual Vaisakhi parade in Surrey, BC, which draws tens of thousands of devotees celebrating the harvest and the founding of Khalsa (the body of baptized Sikhs). There, homeopath Ram Saini sets up a booth. "Sometimes people are fatigued or dehydrated at the event and Dr. Saini helps them then and there," T. J. says.
Ram Saini's booth is just one of the awareness initiatives happening across Canada in April as part of Homeopathy Awareness Month, sponsored by the Canadian Society of Homeopaths (CSH). He also has a booth at another Vaisakhi celebration in Vancouver, and many more CSH professional members are holding events. They join thousands of homeopaths in 65 countries who will be celebrating Homeopathy Awareness Week starting April 10. Look for a list of activities at
http://www.csoh.ca.
Homeopathy for musculoskeletal health
This year's theme for Homeopathy Awareness Month is Homeopathy and Musculoskeletal Health. Musculoskeletal disorders can affect any body system--muscles, joints, tendons, ligaments, cartilages and nerves. According to classical homeopath Diane Louie, homeopathy works on all types of musculoskeletal disorders, including arthritis, bursitis, fibromyalgia, fractures, shin splints, tendinitis and whiplash.
In springtime, Louie observes, getting outside to garden or play sports brings out soreness and injury. Homeopathy is good for overexertion in the garden and any sports injury, including tennis elbow and joint sprains as well as injuries from falls, blunt blow trauma and car accidents.
Ram Saini sees an increase in job-related musculoskeletal disorders. "In the past, physically active people doing labour work, such as farm or factory workers, were prone to musculoskeletal disorders. But now people working nonstop on the keyboard are developing conditions like carpal tunnel syndrome," he notes. Hand strain from texting and "Blackberry thumb" are also on the rise.
"Homeopathy can really address any kind of aches and pain and restriction in mobility, stiffness and swelling," says Louie.
An acute case of back pain
T. J. Singh is, in fact, one of Saini's clients. He first sought out the homeopath's help when he injured his back lifting boxes during a house move. "I was in a lot of pain," recalls T. J. "I couldn't even pick up the remote."
At first, T. J. was thrown off by Saini's thorough, broad-ranging questions after which Saini gave T. J. three doses of homeopathic medicine. "I went back the following day and there was a significant reduction in pain," T. J. recalls. It took two-and-a-half weeks and three visits before the condition was completely taken care of.
For cough, flu or fever, T. J. sees Saini rather than a regular doctor. "Most times I don't use prescription drugs because of the long-term effects they have on you. I think it's a lot healthier to go with homeopathy or naturopathy. Sometimes it's a slower approach, but you recover properly from it, you don't just suppress the symptom."
"Of course if you have a critical illness, a bad fall or broken arm, you go to the hospital," T. J. adds. "Most of the time, though, I think homeopathy is a good approach; you should try it out, you have nothing to lose."
Homeopathy is well recognized in Indian culture, Saini says. In India, colleges and universities offer homeopathy courses, and both the government and the private sector run homeopathic dispensaries. Indian immigrants bring this awareness of homeopathy to Canada and pass it along to their children.
Opening up to homeopathy
Skeptics, too, are won over by homeopathy's healing power. Michael, another of Saini's clients, felt some neck discomfort that over two weeks developed into severe muscle pain in his upper back on both sides of his spine. "I woke up with a kink in my neck. I ignored it for a few days but it got worse."
Usually a healthy and active guy, Michael thought he might have weight trained too hard. But eventually the back pain stopped Michael from doing any lifting and was keeping him up at night. "I was taking Advil to kill the pain but it was not going away."
Michael was not familiar with homeopathy, but one of his friends--Saini's son it turns out--suggested Michael give his dad a call. "I thought Ram was kidding when he started asking me all types of questions. It was one of the strangest conversations I've ever had. I think he was trying to get to the cause."
The next day Saini gave Michael two days' worth of homeopathic remedies. "I was skeptical," he admits, but within two days the pain was completely gone, leaving Michael extremely happy with the result, considering he'd been in pain for two weeks.
"It was a simple process and it opened my eyes to other factors causing pain. I had a lot of personal issues at the time. I think Ram talked me through it."
"I will definitely see him again. It was strange, it was very satisfying, it was easy. It's something people in the West need to learn and experience more."
Balancing the constitution
Whether you see a homeopath for an acute or a chronic condition, "we take the whole case, in terms of the person, not just the physical condition," Diane Louie says. She has seen clients who have been successfully treated for acute conditions come back for a constitutional treatment to deal with a chronic or recurring condition. Lynn is a case in point.
In May 2009, Lynn felt her Achilles tendon go after starting on a strenuous exercise class. Her online research suggested it would take two to three months to heal. She searched "homeopath + Langley," where she lived. "Diane's name popped up on the HANS directory, and being a long-time supporter of HANS, that seemed like a good recommendation to me!"
"Diane asked me the usual questions to try to determine the nature of the pain. She gave me something and in a few days it felt a lot better and within a few weeks it had gone away. It healed in a lot less time than expected, and I was thrilled."
In August, Lynn felt something rip near her hip while playing tennis. "Diane gave me something and it helped quickly." Then in September came a hairline fracture in her rib. Again a homeopathic remedy resolved it. But this time, Louie asked her what was going on? Why the series of injuries? It turns out in the early 1990s Lynn had been diagnosed with osteoporosis. Her bone density was markedly reduced in relation to her age and she was at marked risk of reinjuries.
Louie asked Lynn to consider a full holistic treatment and, in December 2009, Lynn did a full consultation to balance her entire constitution, taking into account her mental and emotional state, her disposition and lifestyle. "I felt really good after that," Lynn recalls. "My disposition was good, I was happy and positive, I just generally had a sense of well-being and I slept well." She has done well over the past year, with no incidents of fractures or reinjury.
Early 2011, Lynn asked Louie for another constitutional treatment and was given a repeat remedy to strengthen her bones. "I have another bone density scan in April and I'm looking forward to the results," Lynn says.
There is indeed much to celebrate during Homeopathy Awareness Month.
A member of the Canadian Society of Homeopaths and the West Coast Homeopathic Society, Ram Sarup Saini, RCSHom, DIHom (London), MD (Alternative Medicine) India, is a classical homeopath who has been practising since 1975. His book Who Is Sick?
is soon to be published in Punjabi and English. (604) 502-9579; http://www.homeopathsaini.com
Diane Louie, DCH, RCSHom, BSc, graduated in 2005 from the Vancouver Homeopathic Academy with a Diploma of Classical Homeopathy. She is a registered member of the Canadian Society of Homeopaths and a member of West Coast Homeopathic Society and HANS. Her clinic is At Home in the Grove Wellness Centre in Langley ((604) 888-2950; email athomeinthegrove@shaw.ca). She is also the homeopathic consultant for Harmony Veterinary Home Care at (604) 818-2440, http://www.harmonyvet.ca.