What is Homeopathy?

• Homeopathy is an alternative medicine that treats patients by applying a small amount of what--in larger doses--is causing the symptoms of a patient's disease. The mixtures are prepared by a homeopath, who examines the various symptoms the patient is having.
  
  

How a Homeopath Decides on the Mixture

• Though a homeopath will consider a patient's symptoms before prescribing a homeopathic mixture, she also will consider other variables such as the cause of the thigh pain and why the patient is showing some symptoms and not others. The homeopath also will look at the sources of stress in a patient and consider whether the disease might be psychosomatic.
  
  

Some Homeopathic Remedies

• Leg cramps can be treated with homeopathic quinine and magnesium phosphorus. For something more severe like sciatica, homeopathy can relieve the irritation to the nerve. Rhus tox is usually the first remedy a homeopath will try, but gnaphilium (if you are experiencing numbness) and colocynth (if you are experiencing pain on the right side) are also given for sciatica. Homeopathy also aims to improve your health to head off future pains in your thighs.
  
  

Cautions About Homeopathy

• Because homeopathy's effectiveness is still in dispute, you should not forgo a traditional therapy for homeopathic treatment. Rather, you should look to use homeopathy as a supplement to whatever treatment program your doctor recommends. You should also discuss both treatments with both your doctor and your homeopath.