What is neural therapy?
Neural therapy was developed by the brothers and doctors Ferdinand and Walter Huneke in the 20th century and belongs to the so-called regulatory therapies. These are intended to solve functional disorders of the entire organism, activate or dampen the nervous system and thus activate the body’s self-healing powers.
Basically, neural therapy is divided into segment therapy and interference field therapy.
Segment therapy
If segmental therapy is not sufficient for relief, in extended segmental therapy the local anesthetic is injected into the so-called border strands, which run parallel to the spinal column. These contain the switching points (ganglia) of the autonomic nervous system. In this way, larger areas of the body are to be treated.
Interference field therapy
When do you perform neural therapy?
Neural therapy can be used for acute complaints such as injuries. Above all, however, it is used for chronic diseases. Common indications are:
- chronic pain, especially back pain and headache
- nerve pain (neuralgia) such as trigeminal neuralgia
- functional disorders without physical correlate such as irritable bowel syndrome
- inflammations
- joint diseases
- hormonal complaints
- depression
- allergies like hay fever
Segmental therapy is a local treatment. The neural therapist palpates painful dermatomes and injects the anesthetic into the skin. This causes wheals to form. The injection can also be placed in deeper tissue layers. If an interference field is to be remediated, the therapist places the injection directly in or around the interference field.
What are the risks of neural therapy?
Side effects occur relatively rarely when performed correctly. Bruising and infection may occur at the injection site. Inflammation manifests itself as redness, swelling and possibly pain.
An allergy or intolerance to the local anesthetic used should also be considered, as this can end in anaphylactic shock.
What do I have to consider during neural therapy?
Neural therapy should not be used in cases of heart disease. Treatment is also not recommended in cases of blood clotting disorders, as deep injections can cause severe bleeding. If there is inflammation of the skin, you should wait until it has subsided.
Neural therapy is not paid for by statutory health insurers, as its effectiveness has not been proven.
