Aging Spines Feel

Safe, successful homeopathic treatment for

painful spinal stenosis
“My back aches so much
that it’s hard to stand up
straight…”

“Whenever I bend my
neck forward, I get a
sharp pain from my neck by DEBRA KATCHEN, MD, MPH,
AAFP, ABIHM, CHom
to my shoulders…”

“My legs feel heavy and

clumsy when I walk, but
when I use a shopping
cart at the grocery,
I get around easier…”

Aches and pains that limit a person’s little to offer people suffering the effects of between the vertebrae to decrease. This is
mobility—these are the kinds of com- degenerative spinal changes. That’s why one reason why people tend to get shorter
plaints I hear daily in my busy family I’m eager to share with you a homeopathic with age.
practice, especially from people in their treatment method that I have been using As discs get thinner and lose their abil-
60s and older. I do my best to help each successfully with patients for the past four ity to cushion, friction of bone on bone
patient, but some cases are more difficult or five years. But first, here’s a little back- can occur. This results in the body trying
than others, especially when the culprit is ground on the problem. to heal itself by adding extra bone to the
degenerative changes in the spine that damaged areas. Such bony growths on the
accompany the “wear and tear” Wear & tear on the spine vertebrae are common and may go unno-
osteoarthritis of aging. This degenerative Between each bone (vertebra) in the ticed, unless they grow into the spinal
process can also be accelerated in younger spinal column is a natural cushion canal and press on the spinal cord, or they
people who’ve experienced repetitive (intervertebral disc) that absorbs shock grow into the nerve-root canals (i.e.,
trauma to their spines, perhaps from and gives our spines the ability to bend. “foraminal canals”) on either side of the
sports, work, or other injuries. Over time, these discs lose moisture and vertebrae and press on the nerves. The
Conventional medical treatment has flatten out, causing the joint spaces narrowing of these canals is known as

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Young Again!

“stenosis” (spinal stenosis or foraminal lightning-like or toothache-like pains in sensations down the spine or into the
stenosis). Bulging discs, vertebral frac- their extremities that are worse with arms and hands.
tures, thickened ligaments, and related movement and better with rest. In the worst cases, people may have
conditions can further narrow these pas- They may feel heaviness, numbness, or trouble with overall balance, coordina-
sageways in which the spinal cord and weakness in one or both legs that gets tion, or bladder and bowel control. They
nerve roots travel. worse when they walk, and they often can even develop paraplegia or quadri-
have to sit for several minutes before the plegia from acute spinal cord compression
Stenosis symptoms symptoms subside. Interestingly, they will (a neurosurgical emergency); for this
Pain from stenosis can come on gradually tell you they can walk for much greater reason, anyone with stenosis should be
or suddenly and be constant or intermit- distances in a shopping center if they monitored by a physician, preferably in
tent. Although the problem is in the spinal push a cart and are slightly hunched over consultation with specialists. This is a
column, the symptoms are felt mostly in it (this temporarily relieves pressure in debilitating, progressive disease process
the arms or legs, depending on which the spinal canal). When stenosis is in that leads to loss of mobility and, conse-
nerves or what parts of the spinal cord are the cervical spine (neck), people may quently, social isolation and depression.
getting compressed. Sufferers complain of complain of tingling or electrical-shock

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 How is it treated? tions, narcotics, nerve stabilizers, and by spinal fusion surgery—fusing a few ver-
Doctors don’t typically diagnose steroid spinal injections. None of these tebrae together to create more stability in
spinal/foraminal stenosis based on a phys- treat the disease process—only the symp- the spine following a laminectomy.
ical exam alone, since nothing much out toms. And the medications don’t do a In fact, lumbar stenosis is the most
of the ordinary will be detected. Rather, great job with the symptoms either; at best common reason for spinal surgery in
they turn to X-ray, MRI, or CT scans to they just dull the pain because as long as patients 65 and older, and surgery is help-
confirm symptoms that a patient reports. the bone spur is still there pressing on the ful in properly selected people—usually
(Conversely, not everyone who is found to nerve, the pain doesn’t go away. those who have limited disease and well-
have stenosis via imaging scans will expe- Surgery to relieve the bone pressure on defined levels of stenosis. In extensive
rience symptoms, however.) the nerve (laminectomy) by shaving off stenosis, however, surgery may be too
Conventional medical treatments some of the bone or other tissues is the next complicated and therefore contraindi-
include rest, postural awareness and phys- option, after conservative measures have cated. Many older people with stenosis
ical therapy, anti-inflammatory medica- been exhausted. Sometimes this is followed will be poor candidates for surgery

Mt. Hekla–Iceland’s Most Active Volcano

Spews forth a healing remedy from its lava and ashes
this decided to use the ash from Mt. Hekla as a homeo-
pathic remedy to address similar illnesses in humans. As
described by J. Garth Wilkinson in Hering’s The Guiding
Symptoms of Our Materia Medica: “Its known pathological
effects on the sheep in the vicinity of Hekla are immense
exostosis of the jaws. … the osseous and dental systems
were much affected. … The jaws were sometimes covered
with large swellings, which spread and were loose of texture
… these could be separated from the bone without injuring
it; but in some fatal cases a hole in the bone going down to
the marrow, was discovered under the swelling.”
Since its introduction into homeopathy, homeopaths have
reported using homeopathically prepared Hekla lava suc-
cessfully in tooth problems, gum abscesses, difficult teething,

N
icknamed the “Gateway to Hell” for its frequent and and jaw disorders as well as in many forms of bone disease
fiery eruptions, Iceland’s Mt. Hekla volcano is also the from bone spurs to bone tumors—and now, based on the
source of a homeopathic remedy that a number of work of Dr. Debra Katchen, spinal and foraminal stenosis
spinal stenosis sufferers might rename a “gift from pain (presumably triggered by vertebral bone spurs).
heaven.” (See “Aging Spines Feel Young Again!” on facing
pages.) The volcano has erupted 19 times since the year A new proving
1104, with its last eruption in 2000. In 2003, the D.K. Bose Foundation/SHI Homeopathic College
in Switzerland, under the direction of Dr. Mohinder Singh
High in fluorine Jus, conducted a human proving of Hekla lava with 17
The homeopathic remedy Hekla lava is made from fine ash people (and 5 others receiving placebo). A few of the key
that erupted from Mt. Hekla. This ash is reported to be very symptoms they found were: loathing of life, lack of ambition
PHOTO BY ALAN LEVINE, FLICKR, CC BY-SA 2.0

high in fluorine, which is toxic to animals and humans. and motivation, absent-mindedness, confusion, hopeless-
Farmers reported losing upwards of 8000 animals to fluorine ness, aggravation at night, lightning-like pains, deep bone
poisoning after the 1970 eruption, when animals grazed on pains, extreme chilliness, improvement from sitting in the
ash-covered pastures and drank toxic water. It is known that sun, and improvement from moving in the open air. The
fluorine (or fluoride) toxicity leads to skeletal fluorosis—a bone proving organizers suggested that, based on their findings,
disease that can include pain, stiffness, calcification of joints Hekla lava might be a useful remedy to help older people
and ligaments, teeth and jaw deformities, crippling bone and with such illnesses as Alzheimer’s, arteriosclerosis, and
spine deformities, and compression of the spinal cord. circulation problems. Download a complete summary of
Homeopaths first observed the toxic effect of the ash on the proving at: www.shi.ch/english/index.html
animals in the 1800s—a clinical toxicity proving—and from —compiled by Homeopathy Today staff

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 Sufferers complain of
lightning-like or
toothache-like pains
in their arms
remedy Bellis perennis held promise for soft, crumbly, and riddled with holes. This
some patients, as it fit their clinical picture gave homeopaths the idea to prepare a
and legs. of rheumatism in old laborers who are
worse from exertion and lifting; but, alas,
remedy from the volcanic ash, and they
began to report clinical success using
the remedy had no effect on their pain. potentized Hekla lava to help people with
None of these patients came to me dental and gum illnesses, jaw deformities,
specifically for homeopathic treatment, so and bone diseases.
I did not treat them constitutionally; how- A light bulb went off in my brain as I
ever, I did notice a Calcarea carbonica con- read this. Having begun my career in
stitutional symptom picture in most of pathology, I have examined many diseased
these fine people. That is, most had bones under the microscope. The descrip-
worked very hard physically in their lives, tion of the bony growths on the animals in
had a tendency to be overweight, had a Iceland reminded me of the lacey-looking,
tendency to “exostoses” (i.e., bone spurs), trabecular-like composition of the bone
were susceptible to cold temperatures, had spurs I’d seen under the microscope at the
arthritic deformities, and were tired from Manhattan Bone Institute—as well as on
a short walk. Perhaps I should have treated the MRIs of people with spinal or forami-
them constitutionally, but the nature of nal stenosis. It was in that moment that I
my busy family practice along with the knew that Hekla lava was the remedy that
physical, eroding, painful quality of their
degenerative disease forced me to think
less constitutionally …
What Is Spinal Stenosis?

T
Ah-ha! he spine, a row of 26 bones in
The remedy that would ultimately relieve your back, allows you to stand
because of other health conditions, such my stenosis patients came to me as an “ah- up straight and bend over. The
as osteoporosis, chronic obstructive pul- ha” moment. While pondering the degen- spine also protects your spinal
monary disease, or heart problems. erative process in the spinal vertebrae and cord from being hurt. In people with
Finally, although surgery may fix the cur- the proliferation of bone spurs that leads spinal stenosis, the spine is narrowed
rent problem, it likely won’t fix it for good to stenosis, I consulted my homeopathic in one or more of three parts:
because the process of vertebral degenera- repertory for the rubric that describes
tion tends to continue. • The space at the center of the spine
bony growths—“exostoses.” A small hand-
ful of remedies were listed, which I • The (foraminal) canals where nerves
First attempts at treatment researched in Hering’s Guiding Symptoms branch out from the spine
On average, in my 20 years of family prac- of Our Materia Medica and other homeo- • The space between vertebral bones
tice I have seen about 10 patients a year pathic texts. One remedy stood out— of the spine.
suffering with significant spinal or foram-

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ARTHRITIS AND MUSCULOSKELETAL AND SKIN DISEASES

Hekla lava*, prepared from the ash and This narrowing puts pressure on the
inal stenosis. By the time they come to me, volcanic rock that erupted from Mount spinal cord and nerves and can
they usually have been diagnosed and are Hekla in Iceland in the 1800s. It came into cause pain.
being treated conventionally for their use as a homeopathic remedy after English
symptoms, with limited results. Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human
physician, J. Garth
LUCIEN MAHIN, WIKIPEDIA, CC-BY 3.0

Services Public Health Service, National Institute of

For a number of years, I tried homeo- Wilkinson(1812–1899), Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases of
pathic treatment to address the spinal reported that sheep, the National Institutes of Health
stenosis symptoms of these patients. A cows, and horses graz-
review of the literature does not indicate ing on volcanic ash- Spinal cord
any specific homeopathic remedies for covered slopes near Mt.
this condition, so I repertorized the indi- Hekla were growing Nerve roots
vidual patient’s stenosis symptoms and huge bony swellings on
gave the indicated remedy. Trials of their jawbones, shin- Vertebra
Hypericum for those with sharp, lancinat- bones, and thighbones,
ing or electric-like nerve pains were not Intervertebral
and sometimes dying
successful. A few patients who felt achy Example of exostoses disk
in a cow’s leg; a result as a result. On post-
and better from warmth improved mildly mortem examination,
of skeletal fluorosis
after taking Ruta graveolens, but their sick- from industrial these exostoses were Section of the Spine
ening, deep pain remained. I thought the contamination. found to be relatively

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 could help people who suffer from debili- and occurring naturally as the mineral flu- before that, she had cared for her para-
tating stenosis. orite). This remedy has a long record of plegic husband for 20 years.
use in addressing many conditions, “For three years now, I’ve spent most of
A trial of Hekla including bony growths, bone tumors, my time in a chair near the picture win-
I asked some of my stenosis patients to and joint enlargements. It is also one of dow,” she told me, “because if I get up and
dissolve one pellet of Hekla lava 30c in a the 12 “Tissue Salts”—homeopathic min- move around for even a little while, I get
six-ounce glass of water and take a one- eral remedies that German physician W.H. these horrible pains.” She described them
teaspoon dose of this mixture twice a day Schüssler theorized could be used to sup- as toothache-like, deep pains in both legs.
(no stirring or shaking between doses port the body in the manner of a “tonic.” The pains first started coming on when-
needed). They were to refrigerate it Schüssler was a pathologist who examined ever she did housework or went out with
between doses and, when the glass was the make-up of the body and identified 12 friends … so she began to do fewer of
empty, to start the process again. (I chose mineral salts he found to be present in these activities and more chair-sitting.
this water dosing method because, accord- every human tissue.** Because human “I felt very sad after my husband died,
ing to Hahnemann, it is more effective than bones contain calcium fluoride (among for sure … but, to be honest, I also felt a
the common way of taking dry pellets.) other compounds), Schüssler found that bit of relief … It was hard to see Howard
First reports from these patients gave he could help people with bone problems so ill. And it was hard on me taking care of
me reason for cautious optimism… Yes, by supplementing them with minute him all those years—constantly lifting
after a few months of treatment, they were doses of this mineral salt, using homeo- him to transfer from the bed to the wheel-
experiencing some improvement in their pathically prepared Calcarea fluorica in chair, and so on.” With the onset of Janet’s
pains! But they still had a long way to go… low potency (e.g., 3X, 6X, or 12X). own pain and mobility problems, how-
The progress was positive but much I had ultimately chosen Hekla lava over ever, her mood grew increasingly
slower than what I had hoped for. Was Calcarea fluorica as the homeopathic rem- depressed as she realized she was largely
there anything I could do to improve my edy for my stenosis patients because it bet- homebound and cut off from activities
prescription? ter fit the description of the type of bone and social connections.
spurs and because its indications were Janet had been to several medical
Add the tissue salt mostly physical—which matched the very centers where she’d been diagnosed with
In researching remedies known to address physical nature of stenosis symptoms. But lumbar spinal stenosis, and she brought the
bone spurs, I had also considered Calcarea since I wasn’t completely satisfied with MRI reports to show me. She had been
fluorica (prepared from calcium fluoride, treatment results, I decided to supplement treated with anti-inflammatory drugs and
the daily Hekla lava 30c pre- mild narcotics. “I eventually stopped all
scription with a “tissue salt” to that because the drugs weren’t really
support healing in the manner helping, and they just seemed to be making
Healthy Spine of Schüssler. So I asked my me more down in the dumps and foggy in
stenosis patients to also take the brain,” she said. Desperate for help,
Calcarea fluorica 6X, 4 tablets Janet had consulted a couple of different
Body of vertebra under the tongue, once a day. neurosurgeons. Although they thought she
This seemed to be the “missing was healthy enough for surgery (which is
Intervertebral disk link” because within days of often not the case for an 84-year-old), they
adding this tissue salt to their refused to operate because Janet’s spinal
regimen, patients began report- stenosis was at too many levels in the spinal
ing substantially less pain. canal and would have required extensive
Below are two case examples. surgery with an uncertain outcome.

Osteoarthritic Janet: homebound Homeopathy for Janet’s stenosis

Spine and isolated Although Janet’s depression was certainly
Eighty-four-year-old Janet colored by grief over the loss of her hus-
Bone spurring came to see me for help with band, I believed the sustaining cause was
depression. She had been wid- the terrible pain from spinal stenosis that
owed for the past 6 years, and had severely limited her activities and left
Narrowed disk
Conventional medical treatment has little to
The bone spurring that results offer people suffering the effects of degenerative
from spinal osteoarthritis can
lead to spinal stenosis and debilitating pain. spinal changes.
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 because she was essentially pain-free! She the severity of her stenosis, her relatively
went back for an MRI the following young age, and her otherwise good health,
month—and the neurosurgeons who read perhaps the surgeons were correct and
it were puzzled by the fact that the multi- surgery would be Stephanie’s best bet. But
ple areas of lumbar stenosis, clearly visible Stephanie wanted to avoid surgery at all
in previous imaging studies, were no costs, so I decided to see if we could help
longer there! her with homeopathy.
Janet was extremely grateful to be back
in action again. Later that year, she sold Driving and cleaning again!
her house and made plans to move to Stephanie began taking Hekla lava 30c
another city where her daughter was twice a day and Calcarea fluorica 6X once a
opening a new business. On her last visit day. After just one month of homeopathic
to my practice, I remember the joy in her treatment, much to her amazement (and
face as she turned to wave good-bye— mine!), Stephanie could clean her house
smiling and ready to start her new life. and make short driving trips around town
Two years later when I checked in on without much pain. After the second
Janet, she was still completely free of the month of homeopathic treatment, she was
deep stenosis pains. working in her garden “almost as if every-

“Last week I was lifting 40-pound bags of limestone

thing was back to normal.” In the third
month of treatment, Stephanie’s pain
and soil to spruce up my garden for spring …” worsened while cleaning her house, espe-
cially when she hyper-extended her neck
her isolated at home. So I asked Janet to Stephanie: Lightning strikes while emptying cupboards. So I suggested
take Hekla lava 30c twice a day and Cal- Stephanie, age 64, had suffered with severe she reduce the activities in which she was
carea fluorica 6X once day, in the manner left-sided neck and arm pain for five years hyper-extending her neck but keep taking
described earlier. before coming to see me. “It feels like her daily homeopathic remedies. By the
Three weeks later, Janet called to report lightning is striking!” she said. “The pain end of her fourth month of treatment,
real improvement in the stenosis pain. “At travels down my shoulder into my arm Stephanie found that she could go back to
first I was noticing that I could do more and hand really fast and gives me a terrible cleaning in all positions, even with a
around the house,” she told me, “and then jolt.” It was especially triggered when she hyper-extended neck, and she did not have
after a few weeks, I decided to venture out turned her head, when she drove, or when pain. Over the fifth and sixth months of
for groceries for the first time in a long she did even very light housekeeping. She treatment, she gradually became almost
time—instead of paying to have them had always enjoyed her annual drive to completely pain-free and was back to driv-
delivered. Not only did I get to the store Texas each winter from Illinois, but she ing and gardening. She had cut back on
okay, but I was able to last much longer had had to give that up the last few years how frequently she was taking the homeo-
than usual! The pains weren’t as bad, and because of her condition. pathic remedies at this point, as she was
they didn’t come as often.” Stephanie had already seen several spe- having few if any problems with shoulder
By the end of the first month of home- cialists and been diagnosed with cervical and arm pain. About 11 months into
opathic treatment, Janet was occasionally foraminal stenosis; specifically, severe nar- homeopathic treatment, she completely
forgetting to take her remedy doses rowing of the nerve-root canals of the ver- stopped taking the remedies, as she no
because the pain wasn’t limiting her every tebrae in her neck, which was pinching longer needed them.
move. She began to go out and visit her nerves. Her MRIs also showed degen-
friends again, and she wasn’t so worried erative changes in her spine in multiple A treatment that lasts
that pain would interrupt her visits. places. Stephanie had been treated with Two years later (and three years after her
By the end of three months of homeo- anti-inflammatory medication, muscle homeopathic treatment began), I checked
pathic treatment, Janet’s stenosis pains relaxants, physical therapy, neck traction, in with Stephanie to find out how she was
had decreased in intensity and frequency and narcotics, but her pains were doing. “I’m completely fine!” she laughed.
so much that she began taking the home- intractable. So she had stopped all those ”No more lightning pains—what a relief!”
opathic remedies only when she felt she treatments before coming to my office and Her only complaint? “Well, last week I
needed them—specifically when the pain had decreased all her activities, in an effort was lifting 40-pound bags of limestone
would start up after sustained activity. to reduce the excruciating pain. and soil to spruce up my garden for
A number of neurosurgeons had rec- spring, and now my neck feels a little
Stenosis pain gone?! ommended surgery, but Stephanie was stiff… But I think it’s just regular muscle
Six months after the start of treatment, not interested. After examining her and soreness—it’s already starting to feel bet-
Janet stopped the remedies completely reviewing her MRIs, I thought that with ter.” Later in the fall of that year, Stephanie

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 After several months
of homeopathic
treatment, all nine
patients were pain-free
and off all their
pain medications.

called me with the happy report that she signs of stenosis could be detected after tions, spinal injections, or physical therapy.
would soon be making her annual drive to homeopathic treatment, but I have “after” Homeopathic treatment using Hekla
Texas for the winter. documentation for just one person. Most lava 30c, twice daily, and Calcarea fluorica
patients have no interest in pursuing fol- 6X, once daily, over the course of a num-
More success stories low-up MRI or CT scans once they are ber of months has effectively stopped the
In addition to Janet and Stephanie, I have pain-free, nor would insurance pay for the pain in nine spinal/foraminal stenosis
successfully used the same homeopathic tests when patients have no pain or med- patients in my practice. These are amazing
treatment method for seven other people ical reason to investigate. results! What a blessing for the patients
in my practice with spinal and/or forami- Short of that, all I can I surmise is that who have avoided surgery and/or a life of
nal stenosis. All were initially suffering homeopathic treatment with Hekla lava isolation and misery!
with debilitating pain that greatly reduced and Calcarea fluorica stimulated these I urge other homeopaths to try this
their mobility, and all were initially patients’ bodies to absorb at least some of method for their patients who suffer with
diagnosed via standard radiological meth- their vertebral bone spurs, so there is less painful spinal or foraminal stenosis and
ods (MRI, CT scan, etc.). After completing pressure on the nerves, thereby reducing are under a physician’s care. Please let me
several months of homeopathic treat- their pain. know how it goes!
ment, all nine patients were pain-free and But if these homeopathic remedies
off all their pain medications. All have have such a positive effect in the spinal * An alternate spelling for the remedy Hekla
continued to be asymptomatic in the vertebrae, what about other areas of the lava is Hecla lava.
ensuing two or three years since they body where bone spurs develop? Would ** For a thorough explanation of Schüssler's
began treatment, as well. this treatment protocol help there? Many theory and use of Tissue Salts (also known
as Cell Salts), see the articles by Miranda
So far, I have only treated one patient in of my stenosis patients also had arthritis
Castro in the January/February 2008 issue
this manner whose response was not com- elsewhere, especially in the knee or hip, of Homeopathy Today. View it and other
plete. A woman in her 40s with severe pain presumably with some bone spurs, too; back issues online at www.NationalCenter-
from spinal stenosis improved about 65% but interestingly enough, their arthritis in ForHomeopathy.org
after three months of homeopathic treat- these other areas did not get better. The
ment. I viewed this as a good response only improvement seemed to be in the
ABOUT THE
with potential for continued improve- vertebral column. I find this amazing and
AUTHOR
ment if she continued the homeopathic cannot explain it.
remedies for another few months; but Debra Katchen, MD, MPH, AAFP,
ABIHM, CHom, has been in
because she still had pain, she decided to Try it and see! general practice for almost
go ahead with her scheduled surgery. The symptoms of nerve pain from spinal twenty years in the Illinois cities
of Knoxville, Galesburg, and
and/or foraminal stenosis are terribly East Peoria. She has studied
What’s going on here? debilitating. They decrease a person’s homeopathy with Drs. Luc de
Schepper and Robin Murphy and integrated it into
I wish I had “before and after” radiologic mobility and cause social isolation, which her practice for the past six years. She currently
reports on each of these patients to see often leads to depression. The pain does practices in Monmouth, Illinois, and can be
reached at [email protected].
whether improvement in the physical not respond well to conventional medica-

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