- Source: Derived from the root and leaves of Symphytum officinale, commonly known as comfrey🌿 ComfreyMateria Medica Clinical Profile: Click to explore Boericke keynotes, symptoms, modalities, and dosage guidelines. or knitbone, a plant in the Boraginaceae family, prepared for homeopathic use through triturationGrinding raw substance into powderThe process of grinding an insoluble dry substance with milk sugar (lactose) in a mortar to prepare the base of a remedy. and serial dilutionPotentized liquid homeopathic medicineA solution prepared by repeatedly diluting and shaking (succussing) a substance to enhance healing power while removing toxicity. to enhance therapeutic action while eliminating material toxicity, in accordance with homeopathic pharmacopeia standards.
- Traditional Context: Historically employed in homeopathy for musculoskeletal, traumatic, and ocular disorders, particularly those involving bone fractures, soft tissue injuries, and eye trauma.
- It is noted for symptoms such as bone pain, slow healing, and aggravationWorsening of symptomsAn increase in severity or intensity of symptoms, often caused by environmental factors or after taking a remedy. from touch, often worsened by touch, pressure, or motion, and ameliorated by rest, warmth, or elevation.
- Modern Context: Indicated for musculoskeletal conditions (e.g., fractures, sprains, osteoarthritis🩺 OsteoarthritisClinical Disease Treatment Profile: Read homeopathic remedies, dietary recommendations, and natural therapeutic options.),.
- Traumatic conditions (e.g., contusions, post-surgical recovery), ocular conditions (e.g., traumatic iritis, corneal abrasion), and chronic pain conditions (e.g., fibromyalgia🩺 FibromyalgiaClinical Disease Treatment Profile: Read homeopathic remedies, dietary recommendations, and natural therapeutic options., chronic back pain).
- It suits patients with acute or chronic symptoms characterized by bone pain, slow healing, soft tissue injuries, eye trauma , or touch sensitivity , typically exacerbated by touch, pressure, motion, or cold, and often seen in individuals with resilient yet injury-prone constitutions.
- The remedy is particularly relevant for those with musculoskeletal or traumatic conditions, often presenting with symptoms like fracture pain or bruising, commonly observed in patients with fractures, sprains, or traumatic iritis triggered by injury, overuse, or mechanical stress.
- COMMENTS-Grimmer noted that, though the provingTesting a remedy on healthy volunteersThe systematic method of administering a substance to healthy subjects to observe and record the symptoms it produces. was meager, there was a rich clinical history.
- According to Gerarde, “The roots of Comfrey stamped and the juice drunk with wine, help those that spit blood and heal all inward wounds and bursting.
- The same bruised and laid to in manner of a plaster, do heal all fresh and green🌿 GreenMateria Medica Clinical Profile: Click to explore Boericke keynotes, symptoms, modalities, and dosage guidelines. wounds and are so glutinous, that it will solder and glue together meat that is chopped in pieces, seething in a pot and make it in one lump.” Gerarde added that it eases pains in the back from violent motion such as wrestling or from excessive sexual indulgence (Arn.🌿 Arn.Materia Medica Clinical Profile: Click to explore Boericke keynotes, symptoms, modalities, and dosage guidelines.), even when spermatorrheaInvoluntary seminal dischargeAn abnormal, involuntary discharge of semen without orgasm or sexual stimulation, often due to nervous weakness. has been induced thereby.
- Peter Squire gave, as the medicinal properties of Symph., “Astringent, mucilaginous, glutinous, useful to form cases for injured limbs.
- The bl ack rind of the root is scraped off and the mucilaginous root is then scraped carefully into a nice even pulp.
- This spread upon cambric or old muslin in wrapped round the limb and bandaged over, it shortly stiffens and forms a casing superior to starch, gi ving support and strength to the part.🌿 Part.Materia Medica Clinical Profile: Click to explore Boericke keynotes, symptoms, modalities, and dosage guidelines.” Squire knew a bonesetter who rendered himself famous for setting compound frac tures with this root, which he kept secret.
- He never removed the bandage after the first dressing until the limb was well.
- Sir Wm.
- Thomso n of Dublin related a case of malignant tumor of the face that had extended to the nose.
- Microscopic examination proved it to be round-celled sarcoma.
- The patient, a man, refused advice at the time, and was examined by Felix Semon, who saw the man later.
- After still further delay, Thomson performed the operation in the month of May, 1896.
- A month later the growth began to show again, increased rapidly, closed the right eye, was blue🌿 BlueMateria Medica Clinical Profile: Click to explore Boericke keynotes, symptoms, modalities, and dosage guidelines., tense, firm, lobulated, but did not break.
- Thomson declined to operate again.
- Early in October, the man walked into Thom-son’s study well.
- “The tumor had completely disappeared from the face and I could not identify any trace of it in the mouth.” The man had applied poultices of comfrey root and the swelling disappeared.
- Comfrey ' s therapeutic history is rich with clinical cures of round-cell sarcoma of the antrum and many cases of bone cancer.
- It seems to have special curative action on the periosteum and bony structures, facilitating the formation of callus in fractures, brin ging about union, even in compound fractures, and in cases of slow or delayed union.
- Curative in injuries to the eyeball by blows etc.
- It follows Arn in such cases, as well as in injuries to and bruising of the testicles.
- Backaches after strains and from sexual excesses.
- Pott’s disease, psoriasis🩺 PsoriasisClinical Disease Treatment Profile: Read homeopathic remedies, dietary recommendations, and natural therapeutic options. and abscesses from a fall.
- One case of inguinal hernia🩺 Inguinal HerniaClinical Disease Treatment Profile: Read homeopathic remedies, dietary recommendations, and natural therapeutic options. has been cured with the topical application of the tinctureConcentrated liquid raw extractA mother tincture prepared by soaking botanical, animal, or mineral raw materials in alcohol and water. of the root.
- H. C. Allen referred to the following in dications for Symph given by Lippe: when the bone or periosteum has been injured and the soft parts have recovered from the bruised soreness under Arn., the remaining pain and soreness of periosteum may be promptly relieved by Symph was the only remedy Lippe had seen which was efficient in traumatic injuries of bone or periosteum.
- He cured many cases after others had used Arn and failed.
- H. C. Allen gave the following cure, reported by Fowler.
- Mrs. J stepped on the edge of a scantling, which rolled and she turned her ankle.
- In a few minutes the ankle began to swell and become painful, pain increased rapidly, so that in hour or two the patient was in great agony.
- She declared that her leg was broken, she “could feel the rough ends of the broken bones jagging into the flesh.” She could not bear any one to approach her for fear of be-wgbMNedsi <span style="color:#0d9488; font-weight:600; margin:0 6px;">➔</span> ^ promptly relieved, so that she went about her usual duties in forty-eight hours.
- Allen regarded pricking pain as a guiding symptom.
- He noted its usefulness, next to bone injuries, for injuries to the eyeball.
- “I have long since ceased to use Arn in injuries of the globe🌿 GlobeMateria Medica Clinical Profile: Click to explore Boericke keynotes, symptoms, modalities, and dosage guidelines. of the eye, Symph having given such prompt and permanent relief.” Croserio was one of the first to use Symph in the potencies for fractures.
- “Injuries of the bones are healed most promptly with Symph.
- 30c internally, once a day.” Wells gave cases of his own, including the case of a boy, 14, who broke the bone of his forearm at the junction of middle and lower thirds, two years before.
- He had twice repeated the fracture by slight falls.
- The ends were now slightly movable on each other, and the arm was of little use.
- Three doses of Symph.
- 30c made a perfect cure and the boy became robust and much better in health than he had ever been before.
- Wells also recorded the case of a boy, 8, wit h a fractured humerus near the junction of condyles and shaft.
- Arn. 30c immediately arrested the spasmodic jerks of muscles of the injured arm.
- Arn was continued three days, by which time all traumatic fever had subsided.
- Symph.
- 3c was given, one drop in half a tumbler of water🌿 WaterMateria Medica Clinical Profile: Click to explore Boericke keynotes, symptoms, modalities, and dosage guidelines., a teaspoonful morning and evening🌿 EveningMateria Medica Clinical Profile: Click to explore Boericke keynotes, symptoms, modalities, and dosage guidelines..
- The splints were removed the ninth day and the bone was found to be consolidated.
- The cure was entirely without pain.
- F. H. Brett cured himself of inguinal rupture by rubbing the part with tinctur e of the root.
- On another occasion, a blow on the lower part of the back from a fall resulted in a secondary affection of the spine in the mid-dorsal region, a protuberance as if from a light dislocation appearing at the spot.
- Again Symph was applied.
- The tenderness at the point subsided after three applications, and in a few days the protuberance disappeared.
- Brett mentioned a case he had heard of a diseased arm that had begun to mortify.
- It was dressed with a poultice of comfrey root and this “drew off the mortified substance.
- The arm became sound again.” Cooper noted that one patient, just before her marriage, had a dangerous attack of scarlatinaScarlet fever bacterial infectionAnother term for scarlet fever, an acute contagious bacterial disease causing a red rash., leaving abscesses on both sides of the neck and great internal swelling, so that she could swallow only liq uids and those with great difficulty.
- The external swelling extended from ear to chin and was hard and very painful.
- Poultices of comfrey root were applied.
- The pain was immediately relieved and her abscesses decreased rapidly until they were entirely absorbed without external opening so far as the patient could remark.
- For bone tumors, osteomyelitis🩺 OsteomyelitisClinical Disease Treatment Profile: Read homeopathic remedies, dietary recommendations, and natural therapeutic options., bone ulcers.
- Sarcomas.
- Bone cancers of the jaw or bones (Hecla.).
- Bone cancer, even if there is no bone injury (Calc-p., Hecla.).
- Non-union of fractures.
- Brok en bones that don’theal well.
- Acutely for osteoporosis🩺 OsteoporosisClinical Disease Treatment Profile: Read homeopathic remedies, dietary recommendations, and natural therapeutic options., or osteogenesis imperfecta🩺 Osteogenesis ImperfectaClinical Disease Treatment Profile: Read homeopathic remedies, dietary recommendations, and natural therapeutic options. (Calc.🌿 Calc.Materia Medica Clinical Profile: Click to explore Boericke keynotes, symptoms, modalities, and dosage guidelines., or Calc-p chronically).
- Stump pain after amputation of a limb (Hyper., All-c., Coff.🌿 Coff.Materia Medica Clinical Profile: Click to explore Boericke keynotes, symptoms, modalities, and dosage guidelines., Calen.), strong aching pains.
- Spinal diseases🌿 DiseasesMateria Medica Clinical Profile: Click to explore Boericke keynotes, symptoms, modalities, and dosage guidelines. after trauma and injury.
- Injuries that result in a lump or tumor.
- For swellings, nodules and tumors in bones and limbs after an injury (Bell-p and Con after injury to soft tissue).
- Tailbone injuries (Arn., Hyper.), with an aching pains.
- Blows to the eyes (Led.🌿 Led.Materia Medica Clinical Profile: Click to explore Boericke keynotes, symptoms, modalities, and dosage guidelines., Arn.).
- Corneal abrasions.
- Hernias (Nux-v.🌿 Nux-V.Materia Medica Clinical Profile: Click to explore Boericke keynotes, symptoms, modalities, and dosage guidelines., Calc., Lyc.🌿 Lyc.Materia Medica Clinical Profile: Click to explore Boericke keynotes, symptoms, modalities, and dosage guidelines.).
- As a compress for mastitis.
- In tincture for stomach ulcers.
- Pain about navel, worse sitting.
- Pains across epigastrium from one side to the other, when sitting.
- Griping pain
