Recorded history shows the use of the arnica montana plant for healing going as far back as the 1500’s. And it’s still going strong! While researching this amazing plant, I stumbled on a book written in 1850 by the doctor, chemist and homeopathist, John Epps. The book was written as a treatise in which he shared a great deal of information on the amazing healing qualities of arnica and calendula and provided actual case studies (humans, not mice) to support his claims.

What was most interesting to me as I read the preface was Epps’ reference to the medical establishment (in England at the time) and it’s shunning and downright ridicule of those administering arnica as a cure. In a bold move he published the treatise to prove just how wrong they were. Surprising to me was the fact that even as far back as the 1840’s the established medical community was busy at work discounting natural remedies, and especially those that had been considered folklore. This information had me wondering just what the benefit to the establishment could have been since they weren’t dealing with big pharma. Maybe it was simply anything that would have taken the power of curing out of their own hands.

Another point that he made and for which I agree was that the ridicule kept arnica in the public’s eye and thus garnered even more interest in the plant, regardless of the attempt to squash it and be done with the whole ordeal. And oh how correct he was! We continue (in our own time) to see push back from the medical and scientific communities to spend the money and effort in research to prove just how powerful some of the herbal remedies really are! And yet the natural revolution has begun and does not seem to be losing momentum. A bane of the establishment, I’m sure!

Arnica Montana is used in both homeopathic and topical remedies to address pain, bruising, arthritis, fractures, and a great deal of other maladies, with its most discussed and touted healing abilities showing up in a reduction of structurally induced pain, as is often experienced with sports injuries and arthritis.

And the proof is in the pudding for this powerful plant. Regardless of the lack of full-blown studies coming from the scientific community (there are plenty, but personally not enough for the clout that this plant should hold), the very fact that this remedy has been around for centuries and has not lost its grip, says it all.

Resources:

Epps, John. A Treatise on the Virtues of Arnica, Rhus Toxicodendron, and Calendula, in Reference to Wounds, Bruises, and Other Diseased States Thereupon Consequent. London: n.p., 1850. Print.

Erlich, Stephen. “Arnica.” University of Maryland Medical Center. American Accreditation HealthCare Commission, 24 Mar. 2015. Web. 05 June 2017.