Arnica (Arnica montana) is used in herbal medicine for relief of bruises, stiffness, and muscle soreness.
Here’s a study that looked at the potential for homeopathic arnica to reduce swelling and pain following 3 different operations in patients who required knee surgery.
The details.
Prior to surgery, 300 patients were given a homeopathic dilution of arnica or placebo.
300 patients received one of 3 operations (arthroscopy, artificial knee joint implantation, and cruciate ligament reconstruction).
More arnica (or placebo) was given after surgery.
The researchers used knee circumference as the measure of arnica’s effectiveness.
When measured 2 days following surgery, significantly less swelling was seen only in the 57 patients who had the cruciate ligament reconstruction.
It’s not clear to me why it worked in one group but not in the other two.
Policosanol is available in the United States as a nutritional supplement with claims that it lowers cholesterol levels. It has been covered extensively on this blog.
With the increase in combination therapy to control hypercholesterolemia, its now been tried and failed when used in combination with atorvastatin (Lipitor).
During the most recent meeting of the American College of Chest Physicians Dr. Paul Blanc from the University of California at San Francisco reported that half of all people with asthma use CAM.
In 1993, Senator Orrin Hatch said, “most of these [herbal remedies] have been on the market for 4,000 years, and the real issue is risk. And there is not much risk in any of these products.”
The term ginseng refers to Panax genus (Korean, Japanese, and American ginseng) and Eleutherococcus genus (Siberian ginseng). Siberian ginseng is not a true ginseng and cannot be used in place of Panax ginseng.
Capsicum (Cayenne) is a category of plants used as spices, vegetables, and medicines. Think chili pepper, red or green pepper, bell pepper, and paprika.
In this study, capsicum plaster was applied at a classical Chinese acupoint to lessen pain in infants and children following surgery.
Cannabis (marijuana) dependence is associated with an increased risk of panic attacks.
More than 4000 Colorado adults participated in a study of the lifetime associations between cannabis use, abuse, and dependence, and the risk of panic attacks.
Abdominal massage using two drops of lavender (Lavandula officinalis), one drop of clary sage (Salvia sclarea), and one drop of rose (Rosa centifolia) in 5 mL of almond oil was more effective than no treatment or almond oil alone.
Arnica (Arnica montana) is used in herbal medicine for relief of bruises, stiffness, and muscle soreness.
Policosanol is available in the United States as a nutritional supplement with claims that it lowers cholesterol levels. It has been 
During the most recent meeting of the American College of Chest Physicians Dr. Paul Blanc from the University of California at San Francisco reported that half of all people with asthma use CAM.
In 1993, Senator Orrin Hatch said, “most of these [herbal remedies] have been on the market for 4,000 years, and the real issue is risk. And there is not much risk in any of these products.”
MayoClinic.com has 
The term ginseng refers to Panax genus (Korean, Japanese, and American ginseng) and Eleutherococcus genus (Siberian ginseng). Siberian ginseng is not a true ginseng and cannot be used in place of Panax ginseng.
The Cochrane Collaboration has 
Capsicum (Cayenne) is a 
Milk thistle and butterbur
North of the (US) border it’s possible to get medical marijuana from the government if you have a “grave or debilitating disease.”
I was surprised to learn of the popularity of homeopathy among today’s luminaries.
Another study reports that black cohosh is 
Abdominal massage using two drops of lavender (Lavandula officinalis), one drop of clary sage (Salvia sclarea), and one drop of rose (Rosa centifolia) in 5 mL of almond oil was 
Here are the results of a 
In the past year, several studies on this topic have appeared. The results are positive.