Some chiropractors limit themselves to treatment of pain, while others believe that all maladies can and do respond to chiropractic manipulation. Homeopathy is the alternative treatment method likely to be the least familiar to the reader. The practice of homeopathy was begun by Samuel Hahnemann about two hundred years ago. In other words, homeopaths believe that substances that cause symptoms of illness can be used in minute amounts to treat those same symptoms. This is done generally by oral administration of an extremely dilute solution of the homeopathic remedy.
Homeopathic drugs are often plant derived.
The plant material is soaked in an alcohol-water mix to form a stock solution. This solution is then serially diluted to produce homeopathic remedies of varying potency. A combination of 1 part stock solution and 99 parts diluent produces what is termed a 1c dilution. A 2c dilution consists of one part of the 1c solution combined with 99 parts diluent, and so forth. Many homeopathic remedies are used as 30c dilutions, in other words one part active ingredient in 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 parts diluent.