This book review is reprinted with permission from Homeopathic Links.
Homeopathy For Musculoskeletal Healing
Asa Hershoff ND, DC
Published by North Atlantic Books
P.O. Box 12327
Berkeley, California 94712
ISBN 1-55643-237-2
paperback 314 pages, includes index
Printed in the United States of America in 1996
reviewed by Gerard Hommema- The Netherlands
This book describes the homoeopathic remedies in relation to the musculoskeletal system. The layout of this book is influenced by the author's interest in graphic arts and multimedia. It is designed and illustrated as a quick guide to find the right homeopathic remedies for a wide range of musculoskeletal conditions. It has the advantage and speed of a computer program, like clicking on a menu, but without the troublesome strain on arm and eyes (Ruta?). This book starts with an extensive introduction on how to use it. As is often the case with new programs, one might prefer to skip the 'help' key and 'read me first' section. But because the structure itself is what makes this book different, we will deal with this first. The book consists of four main sections and an appendix.
The impressive bibliography shows that the author has done his best to forestall any reactions of 'here we have yet another one of those therapeutic guides for quick prescribing'. The first section consists of. an overview of homeopathic principles with 16 main topics.
The second section consists of thirty- one Condition Charts. They are related to specific musculoskeletal conditions or major areas of the body. A synopsis of the six to eight main remedies for the condition or location is given and these are linked numerically to a more extensive description in the third section, the Materia Medica.
The Materia Medica contains descriptions of the sixty-one important musculoskeletal remedies found in the Condition Charts. The main focus is, of course, the musculoskeletal symptoms of the remedy, with brief descriptions of other characteristic modalities and symptoms of mind and body.
The fourth section, the therapeutic guide, provides more extensive lists of conditions and locations, and the remedies that may apply. Here the usual homeopathic convention (CAPITALS, italics, plain type) is used to indicate the relative importance of remedies.
Finally, the Appendix contains a chart of the relationship and interaction of the remedies described in the book.
Homeopaths and students who like structures and diagrams, in other words people of the mineral character, will be able to get a lot of information from this book. But chiropractors, sports masseurs etc. will also be able to use this book as a first aid therapeutic guide.
As a homeopathic practitioner I tested the book on its practicality by looking up the symptoms of several patients who consulted me during the past few weeks, for instance a patient with bursitis, one with quervain disease and one with arthritis.
Taking arthritis as an example, you first get a short introduction on the symptoms, and then the book suggests several solutions for conditions ranging from acute inflammation to actual degenerative changes.
The section on body language, for instance 'The inward contraction of arthritis expresses severe repression, unresolved feeling, and suppression of the entire emotional life' gives you the opportunity to fit the symptoms in a somewhat holistic framework.
The therapeutic guide, with main sections such as: bone, connective tissue, joints, nerve etc. is quick and easy to use, but don't forget to have the repertory within reach. As I have already stated, the materia medica mainly consists of clinical musculoskeletal conditions and is somewhat brief as far as the total description of the remedy is concerned. But it does contain not only polychrests, but also several small remedies, such as thiosinaminum for instance, for dissolving scar tissue. My conclusion is that this book is a useful tool to find the unique symptoms that are necessary to come to a good prescription.
About the author
Dr. Asa Hershoff, born in 1948, is a
naturopathic physician, chiropractor
and homoeopath. He was a founder of
the Canadian College of Naturopathic
Medicine, and was a key figure in the
renaissance of natural medicine in
Canada. He presently lives in Santa
Monica, California.
Homoeopathic Links
Winter 1997, Vol. 10