SPRAINS AND BRUISES: STEAMING – CASE HISTORY

Case No. 1: Hamstring cramping.

This person was running on the beach and into the cold water when suddenly he felt as if a baseball bat had belted him in the right calf muscle. In intense pain, he hobbled back to his car and reached home successfully. He felt sure that he would be off his feet for days so he tried to get a pair of crutches to use. None were available, but the leg was steamed as described above. The next day he drove to the city, sixty miles away, and went about his business as usual, with only a slight limp. Two 2-hour treatments were used in this case.

Case No. 2.

Another lad suffered a motorbike accident in which his only injury was several broken bones in the back of his hand. By the time he reached the doctor, it was badly swollen. He was informed that the bones could not be reset until the swelling had subsided, in an estimated three days. He came to us and, using a cardboard carton, we made a little steam tent and steamed the hand for approximately three hours, which was as long as it took to get the swelling down. Every 15 minutes we would take it out of the tent and wrap it with a rag that had been soaked in ice water. He returned that same afternoon to a very surprised doctor who was then able to set the bones. The double action induced by the steam (sweating and circulating), had enabled the body to carry off the fluid built up in the hand.

Case No. 3.

A carpenter fell off a roof onto some rocks, badly injuring his shoulder in the process. He came straight over, and we put him into a full-body steam tent. This was done because the whole body was bruised and aching. However, we applied the ice water only to the injured shoulder. The treatment lasted about two hours. This was followed with a light massage, and the patient went home feeling comfortable. He rested the next day and returned to work the following day. It is his testimony that, but for this treatment, he feels he would have been incapacitated for the next two weeks, which was time off he could not afford.

In similar circumstances, another man was given two weeks of workman’s compensation, but with hot and cold treatment he was back at work in three days’ time. And another using hot and cold recovered over the weekend instead of being away from work for the predicted two weeks.

Case No. 4.

Working in the garden one morning, I accidently ran a prong of the garden fork into the upper part of my foot. It did not penetrate very deeply, but it did break the skin. Just then a visitor drove into the yard, and the incident was forgotten for the time. However, later in the afternoon while I was working at my desk, I began to feel pain in my foot. Looking at it, I noticed that it was swelling, but I still thought that it was not very serious. I decided to overlook it and kept on working, hoping it would take care of itself. Another half hour went by and the swelling continued. Now it was uncomfortably painful. There was no one at home to help me, so I had to devise a way to take care of the situation myself. I hobbled up to the house and set up a chair and a kettle so I could sweat the affected foot. I also wanted to disperse the build-up of fluid, so I placed my steam tent beside the refrigerator. Then I took two wet face-cloths and put them in the freezing compartment. Now I was in great pain from having to walk on the congested foot. But, by alternately heating the foot in the steam tent and then wrapping it in the cold cloths from the refrigerator, I was able to find relief after about an hour’s time. The swelling did not show any signs of going down, but there was a softening of the tissues which helped relieve the pressure.

It was necessary for me to have more than one treatment, and during this time I made a few visits to the sea-side.

I sat at the edge of the water and allowed the waves to splash over it and massage it. Sea water contains many healing mineral salts that cleanse and restore health. This, together with the action of the waves, stimulated the circulation. An onlooker at the beach was shocked when she saw the condition of my foot the first day. I only wish she had been there later to see the effective results of using nature’s doctors in this instance.

*29\62\2*

Share and Enjoy: