Homeopathy is always in the News, here are some recent articles:
The following is from DW-WORLD.DE DEUTSCHE WELLE a well known german media source.
EURO 2008 | 04.06.2008
German Soccer Stars Sold on Homeopathic Remedies
Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: Germany -- are they wired
to the gills on weird roots?
Part of winning any championship is dealing with injuries -- or
avoiding them in the first place. A new study shows that the German
national team places unusual trust in natural healing over traditional
medicine.
Soccer is no stranger to strange ideas about how to keep star
players from getting hurt. In 1998, then England coach Glenn Hoddle
took a faith healer to the World Cup -- to no avail, as England lost on
penalties to Argentina.
A study just published on how German soccer docs treat aches and
pains has revealed that Germany's faith is in "homeopathic doping."
The presumably objective study was carried out by an academic
institute in Koblenz at the behest of a leading manufacturer of
homeopathic remedies. It found that 92 percent of doctors who work for
the Bundesliga's first- and second-division sides prescribed such cures.
One of them, Bayer Leverkusen's Dieter Trzolek, has even been
nicknamed "the Druid" -- rather ironically since his employer is a team
sponsored by an aspirin company.
No worries with WADA
Bildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: Not all natural substances are legal
Homeopathy was invented in the late 18th century by German Samuel Hahnemann
and has been the subject of hot debate ever since.
Scientific investigations have never found any healing benefits
other than a placebo effect from taking preparations of things with
colorful names like leopard's bane, squirting cucumber or marsh tea.
On the other hand, players who take homeopathic remedies, unlike
users of other chemical forms of physical rejuvenation, have no reason
to fear anti-steroid checks.
"The success stories are impressive," said Peter Billigmann, a
sports doctor and the head of the institute that carried out the study,
in an interview with the Spiegel news magazine. "Homeopathic substances
don't have any side effects, and we're on the safe side where doping is
concerned."
Alternative medicine chest
Bildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: Captain
Michael Ballack, r, just wears the number 13 for luck
And homeopathic preparations aren't the only route German footballers choose
in an attempt to keep their bodies running.
Billigmann's study found that some 60 percent of team doctors have
prescribed acupuncture, and former national players Patrick Owomoyela
and Jan Schlaudraff are reportedly clients of "self-healing management"
guru Holger Fischer.
Meanwhile, Germany defender Marcell Jansen is allegedly a fan of
"kinesio tapes," strips of porous cotton fabric with a medical grade
acrylic adhesive that supposedly stimulate the body's own healing
functions.
Whether the tapes and herbs and self-healing management processes
have any effect on players' abilities to curl in crosses or convert
penalties will be a matter for future generations of sports-medicinal
debate.
But given Germany's relatively good rate of success in international
tournaments, perhaps teams like England and the Netherlands might want
to give homeopathic doping a whirl.