Case Quizes Clinical Cases

Revisiting: A Giant Pain In The Neck!

Have you ever had a pain in the neck? Scroll down to find the answer to last month’s Quiz.

Happy Holidays, one and all!

Oh,  and you too, Mom.

Gee, thanks.

I wish I could be equally as cheery about the “Death Report” this month, but….

It’s so hard to be cheery about the “Death Report”.

I’m heartbroken to announce that we lost another “Sesame Street” alumnus.  Remember in one of our articles I mentioned that Emilio Delgado (Maria’s husband “Luis”) died in March?  Well, now we’ve lost Bob!

Bob????

Yes, Bob!  Bob McGrath, who played the music teacher on “Sesame Street”.

He was 90 and apparently it was complications from a stroke.

I had no idea Bob was the music teacher!  And I’m only just now finding out he could sing—I mean, really well!

The weird thing was I had just watched “Elmo Saves Christmas” a day or two ago…

Good grief….

I hadn’t seen it in years!  Remember “Did Bob send Shana a Penny?”  You wrote that in my Baby Book.

I did????

Anyway, I guess he had a good life but it’s still a sad way to go.  He was beloved by many generations of children!  I’ll also never get over the fact that the reason he was dropped from the show was most likely because of age-ism.

Weren’t all the original cast members fired at the same time?  Bob, Luis, Gordon, Maria…? 

Maria retired!  She got to go on her own terms.

I think we wrote about it in this quiz:

https://hpathy.com/case-quizes/revisiting-what-remedy-is-marge-simpson/

In July 2016, Sesame Workshop announced he would not return for the next season because they were “retooling” the show.

Yes, that’s exactly when we wrote about it!

The same thing happened to Emilio Delgado (Luis) and Roscoe Orman (Gordon).  One cast member that wasn’t let go was said to be at least 20 years younger.

Grr!!!!

Also, something people may not have known about Bob.  Before “Sesame Street”, Bob McGrath was apparently a well-known recording artist in Japan!

Japan?

Yes, Mom!  He sang on Japanese TV five nights a week!  In fact, here’s something I’ll bet no one has ever seen before!  It’s Bob as a contestant on “To Tell The Truth”, a popular game show from the ’60’s.  The panel is introduced to Bob and 2 imposters who all claim to be Bob McGrath.  The panel has to guess which one is telling the truth!  In the end, the real Bob sings “Danny Boy” in Japanese, it’s really something to see!

It’s just weird to think about the things people did before they became famous.

Anyway, if you were to ask what Bob is best remembered for on Sesame Street?  It’s probably the song, “People In Your Neighborhood,” and I wanted to show that, but the Death Report is long again, and given that I’ve already opted to show the “Danny Boy” spot, I should probably go out with, “Keep Christmas With You” because hello, it’s the Holidays!

It’s good to see that you’re always thinking, Shana.

Rest in peace, Bob, you brought joy to millions of children around the world—especially me!

Who’s next?

Now, this is quite sad.  I’m sure you’ve heard of Fleetwood Mac.

Of course!  I’m not an idiot!

Well, we lost one of their most beloved vocalists,

 

Christine McVie at 79.  She was the keyboard player.  And her voice can be heard on many songs, including:

 

You Make Loving Fun

Little Lies

Say You Love Me

Don’t Stop Thinking About Tomorrow

The Chain

In fact, let’s play “The Chain” right now.  Of the 3 vocalists in the video, Christine is the one on the left, Stevie Nicks is in the center and Lindsey Buckingham is on the right.  What an amazing band, they put the rest to shame:

Did you know she had a solo album called “Christine Perfect” before joining the band?

I did not know that.  RIP, Christine, we will miss you, thank you for so many Perfect songs!

 

Finally, the Founder of Stax Records, Jim Stewart, passed away at 92.

Jim Stewart and Estelle Axton

Wow, the founder of Stax Records died?  OMG!  What an unlikely duo to have founded “Soulsville USA”! 

Jim bought an abandoned movie theater and turned it into a recording studio.  For roughly 15 years, the greatest soul songs in America came out of either Stax or its sister label, Volt.  Perhaps the most recognizable tune on Stax is “Green Onions” by Booker T. and the MG’s:

left to right: Booker T. Jones, Donald “Duck” Dunn, Steve Cropper and Al Jackson

 

And you can’t forget “Soul Man” by Sam and Dave, written by Isaac Hayes:

Sam Moore, Dave Prater

Jim founded the label with his sister Estelle (pictured above).  If you’ve ever wondered where the name “Stax” came from it was a conflation of their last names: Stewart and Axton.

I did not know that.

Estelle literally had to mortgage her house twice to create the record label (originally called Satellite Records but they had to change the name after discovering there already was a Satellite Records).

At first they simply needed better recording equipment, but the second time Estelle mortgaged her house, it was to buy the old Capitol theater, which became the iconic Stax studios (also referred to as “Soulsville USA”).

Take a peek inside Stax, 1967, vintage footage which we’re lucky to have.  Here you’ll see Brook Benton recording a side which unfortunately did not become a hit but you get to hear his beautiful voice anyway; you’ll see Booker T and the MG’s rehearsing “Time Is Tight”, you’ll see the Memphis Horns, including Isaac Hayes, rehearsing the horn part to The Emotions “So I Can Love You”, and a few random other things:

Today, Stax is a museum, much like Motown in Detroit.  Mild-mannered Jim Stewart from Memphis, Tennessee, who worked in a bank during the day, borrowed money from his sister—twice—and created a multi-million dollar music extravaganza with over 250 chart-topping hits that are all fondly remembered!

By me. 

Can we possibly start the Quiz now?

Who’s in it this time?

I’m afraid I am.

Why?  What happened to you?

Remember my pain in the neck?  (Don’t worry, your case is in “Tidbits”.)

What case?

You know, the tick bite! 

Oh geez!

But first me!  It was a dark and lonely afternoon….

It was sunny and gay!

Not to me it wasn’t!  Have you ever had a pain in the neck?

I don’t think so.

Well, believe me, everything turns dark!  I think they call it a “crick” in the neck?  But anyway, there was nothing I could do about it!  It hurt to turn my head a certain way, and that way kept changing all the time!  I couldn’t rest, I couldn’t lie comfortably.  It was the left side of my neck, if that matters.  I kept thinking if I could just put a pillow or something supportive under my neck so I could stretch my head all the way back, or if I could just get a really deep massage…but what’s the likelihood of that happening?!  So, eventually I realized my only hope was to take a remedy!  So, I went in the bedroom and got ________1M and guess what?

What?

In half an hour the pain was gone!!!!  

Really?

And it never came back!  OK, everybody, if you know what the remedy was, write to me at [email protected].  The answer will be in the January ezine.

And going out….remember the video above, a peek inside Stax?  The song the horn section was rehearsing was for “So I Can Love You” by The Emotions.  Let’s listen to the finished product now.  See if you can hear where the horns came in; great arrangement, Isaac Hayes!

Bye, see you again next year!

______________________________

Votes

Hypericum

Pulsatilla

Bryonia

Rhus tox-5

___________________

Hello, class!  How did we do this time?  Who wants to go first?

Hi Elaine,

Hi, Anujai.

The narration is quite restless…so, I’m thinking Rhus tox.

But the fact that the complaint went away so quickly… maybe hypericum-perf would be better (something acute).

Almost all remedies are capable of working in acute cases if the symptoms match.  You’d have to have a better reason for prescribing Hypericum other than it being an “acute remedy”.  Hypericum is known for very severe pains such that the person is crying out, “Ouch!!!”  Remember what Hypericum is famous for: injuries to areas rich in nerves.  Here is a Hypericum case for you:

Tidbits 44: Moving Again–Thanks to Homeopathy!

Now, you said it could be Rhus tox because of restlessness.  Actually, I was not restless, I just couldn’t lie comfortably because my neck hurt no matter what position I was in.  But, ironically, the remedy was Rhus tox!  Not because of restlessness but because of the modalities!  I wanted to stretch my neck back as far as I could but there was no way for me to do that.  Under “Generals: stretching amel.” there are only 2 remedies in Bold and Rhus tox is one of them.

Then, what else?  I said that if I could just get a deep massage, I would feel so much better.  The rubric is “Generals: rubbing amel.” and Rhus tox is in Bold.

In the rubric “Generals: sprained sensation”–Rhus tox is in Bold.  Whenever we strain or sprain a muscle, Rhus tox is right up there as a primary consideration. 

Thank you Elaine for the detailed explanation.

Yes agreed…I did not have enough for the Hypericum choice…I don’t know why I thought it might be nerve-related.

Yes my choice of Rhus tox was more than just the “restlessness” … my initial thought was about needing that deep massage…but just then, when I read it again…even though you were not restless there was something about the way it was written …the essence came out out as “restless”.

But then I left that to think about Hypericum vs Ruta….and in my experience I have found Hypericum to be a quick acting remedy….but agreed, that’s no reason.

Here’s a Rhus tox case you might like to see.  This patient gets leg cramps at night and the only thing that makes them go away is extensive walking.

Revisiting: “The Walk”!

Rhus tox is actually better for motion.  There are restless remedies like Arsenicum and Merc-viv. that get no better from moving!  If you think you have a Rhus tox case because the patient is restless, but he gets no better from movement, it’s probably not Rhus tox.

Thanks again

AH

Will our next contestant enter and sign in please?

Hi Elaine,

It’s Neil from the UK.

I thought about Bryonia but no longer think so on re-reading.  The pain is shifting.

All I said in that regard was, “I can’t turn my head a certain way, but that ‘way’ keeps changing all the time!”  You know, I don’t think that falls into the category of Pulsatilla’s “constantly changing symptoms”.  It’s still the same symptom–left-sided neck pain. 

Two symptoms in the case stood out to me as “striking”:

  1. I was desiring a deep massage,
  2. I was wishing I could stretch my head way back.

So, the 3 symptoms one would want to repertorize here are: neck pain on turning the head, desire for stretching and desire for deep massage:

The last rubric is really important.  It’s worded awkwardly but ends in: “Hard rubbing amel.” 

Only one remedy listed:

Rhus tox.

Rhus tox was actually my first thought. 

I think of pulsatilla with shifting pains but then again there’s restlessness which I don’t associate with Pulsatilla.

There was no restlessness, Neil.  I only said, “I can’t rest.”  It would be hard to rest with any sort of pain; but, it doesn’t necessarily follow from that that you’re “restless”, meaning that you have to get up and move or toss and turn.

Again, it all comes back to keynotes, knowing your remedy keynotes.  You didn’t recognize Rhus tox from “desiring a deep massage” and “desiring to stretch”.  That was the problem.

Lac caninum is under pain moving neck and shifting but as you took remedy straight away, maybe you would not have had it so handy as it’s not a common remedy; so, I will go for Pulsatilla.

You’re right to observe that no one would have Lac caninum “handy”, so to speak; but, Pulsatilla is not listed under “rubbing amel; so, that becomes a problem for Pulsatilla.

Regards,

Neil, UK

I see Edina is back!

Hi, Elaine.

Sounds like a muscle spasm.  Been there…

I feel like the more important thing was worse on motion and not which side.

Dr. Luc says Bryonia is great for whiplash.  Close enough…

So maybe Bryonia.

The important clue to this case was the desire for deep massage, also a desire for stretching.  Both would go against Bryonia which wants to be perfectly still.  Note that Bryonia is only a “1” under “Generals: rubbing amel.” and is not there at all under “Generals: stretching, amel.” 

There is a rubric in an unexpected place, namely, “Generals: rubbing agg, but hard, amel.”  (In other words, rubbing aggravates except for hard rubbing!) — only one remedy listed, Rhus tox!  Now, oddly enough, where you see this rubric again (“Generals: rubbing amel., hard”) Rhus tox isn’t there!  Only Medorrhinum and Radium brom!  Now, clearly, that makes no sense! 

But this is the Repertory for you!  It’s a lot like the Bible–lots of authors, all contradicting each other!  It would be a life’s work to straighten it all out!  So, yes, the remedy was Rhus tox.

Pam is here!!!!  

OK, Elaine, I read the quiz.  I think the remedy is Rhus tox.  This is what you said which led me to choose it:

“I couldn’t rest, I couldn’t lie comfortably.”

I took this RESTLESSNESS to match the Rhus Tox keynote of:

< at rest: and  > at motion.

Thanks!

Pam

Pam, right answer but for all the wrong reasons!  There was no restlessness.  I didn’t toss and turn, I didn’t feel the need to get up and walk or move around.  I didn’t even feel the need to move my head from side to side or around and around.  I qualified my “couldn’t rest” statement with “I couldn’t lie comfortably”.  In other words, the pain made resting comfortably impossible. 

But, here’s the thing about Rhus tox, Pam; movement actually makes them better!  I was not better for movement at all.  In fact, moving my head appeared to aggravate; so, hence, the votes for Bryonia.  But, now, what were the 2 major clues in this case?  I felt like there were 2 things I needed to feel better but couldn’t get:

  1. a way to stretch my head all the way back,
  2. a deep massage.

So, what are the rubrics?  Generals: rubbing amel. and Generals: stretching amel.  Rhus tox wants both of those things but not so Bryonia; so, we have to eliminate that. 

But yes, you were right, it was Rhus tox, but, you know, I say it so many times, don’t I?  THINK!  Just because a patient says, “I can’t rest” doesn’t mean we should automatically pick up that ball and run with it.  It’s hard to rest with pain; but it doesn’t necessarily follow that “restlessness” is the result.  We would need to see evidence of that.  Where is the restlessness, where are you seeing it?

 

I’m sensing Maria from Greece is here.

Happy New Year Elaine and Shana!

Same to you, Maria!

For this month, my vote goes to Rhus tox.  It is probably the wrong choice but I will try again.

It’s not wrong, so don’t!

 

Hey everybody, Vamsi’s in the house!!!!!!

Dearest Elaine

First, A VERY Happy 2023 to you and our Darling Shana.  🍁🌻🍀🌷

Thank you!  Same to you!

Waiting for a blast of quizzes this year again from you.

I’m ready to blast off!

Now coming to the quiz, the most awaited every month.  Hope I am on time.

You are.

Etiology

– Not mentioned

Mentals

– Not mentioned

Generals and Particulars

– Crick in neck ( stiffness )

– Left sided Pain

– Could not rest, ( Points to nothing but Restlessness )

Not necessarily, Vamsi, you would have to see evidence of restlessness.

Stiffness, Left-Sided complaint and Restlessness, sparks nothing but our famous remedy:

RHUS TOX.

Well Vamsi, just like Pam, you got the right answer but for all the wrong reasons!  You got misled into thinking that “cannot rest” means restlessness!  What would restlessness look like?  Needing to get up and move?  Needing to turn the head from left to right, from up to down and around and around?  I couldn’t do any of that.  You know, it’s very hard to rest if you’re in pain.  So, there were no signs of restlessness, but, what went for Rhus tox?  What you said about “stiffness”, plus, desire for deep massage and the desire to stretch the head way back as far as it would go.  See Generals: stretching amel. and Generals: rubbing amel.  So, always remember: Rhus tox wants deep massage and stretching to feel better.

Cheers,

Vamsi.

 

Hello Elaine and Shana,

Hello Miroslav and Jitka!!!

we are sending our solutions to your last quiz from last year.  It’s almost late, but since our answers are brief, hopefully you’ll include them in your review.

Of course.

Miroslav answers:

Since we don’t know the cause of the problem, we have to work with what is given in the quiz.  The patient cannot rest, lie calmly, which excludes Bryonia.

OK, so just a minute.  I clarified to say, “I can’t rest comfortably.”  It would be hard for anyone in pain to rest comfortably.  Don’t take from that, “Oh!  Elaine is restless.”  No.  Where is the evidence?  Where is the restlessness?  Was I pacing?  Was I rolling my head around and around to try to feel better?  There’s no sign of restlessness, only “words”.  Every person who answered the quiz said the same thing.  “She’s restless!  Rhus tox!”  No one is bothering to think or be discerning.

Since she mentions the left side of the neck, I would try Rhus – tox.

You’re picking Rhus tox just because of left-sidedness?

Jitka answers:

I didn’t know exactly what the word “crick” meant, so I had to search on Google, which offered me an explanation that it is a painful stiff feeling in the neck or back.  Most sources list Rhus tox as the first remedy for a stiff neck, which would also correspond to your symptoms of great pain in the neck and the inability to rest calmly. That’s why I also vote for Rhus tox.

Yes, it WAS Rhus tox!  And yes, stiffness is a Rhus tox word, as I’ve said many times.  But what else?  What were the two BIG clues in the case?  Wanting to stretch, and wanting deep massage!  Those are Rhus tox keynotes!!!!

Rhus tox is better for stretching and better for rubbing.

Generals: Rubbing amel.

Generals: Stretching amel.

OK, we’ve got lots of winners today but no one seemed to know why— except for Jitka who did know that “stiffness” was a good reason to pick Rhus tox, so, the Gold Star I’m giving to Jitka!

Bye, everybody, see you again next time!

——————————————

 Elaine Lewis, DHom, CHom

Elaine takes online cases. Write to her at [email protected]

Visit her website: https://ElaineLewis.hpathy.com

About the author

Elaine Lewis

Elaine Lewis, D.Hom., C.Hom.
Elaine is a passionate homeopath, helping people offline as well as online. Contact her at [email protected]
Elaine is a graduate of Robin Murphy's Hahnemann Academy of North America and author of many articles on homeopathy including her monthly feature in the Hpathy ezine, "The Quiz". Visit her website at:
https://elainelewis.hpathy.com/ and TheSilhouettes.org

About the author

Shana Lewis

Shana spices up the Hpathy Quiz with her timely announcements and reviews on the latest in pop culture. Her vast knowledge of music before her time has inspired the nickname: "Shanapedia"!

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