An effective procedure for the relief of pain of various complaints is neural therapy. It belongs to the natural healing methods and is not yet covered by the statutory health insurance.
What is neural therapy?
Neural therapy is used in naturopathy to relieve functional body complaints. It involves injecting a locally acting anesthetic into specific areas of the body. Neural therapy is used in naturopathy to relieve functional body complaints. For this purpose, a locally acting anesthetic is injected into certain parts of the body. In 1925, physician Ferdinand Huneke discovered that injecting a local anesthetic into a specific area of tissue not only numbs pain, but can actually cure it permanently. Together with his brother Walter, he researched this mode of action in more detail and found out that the remedy worked via the autonomic nervous system. Neural therapy is based on two assumptions:
The interference field theory assumes that pathological events in the body ( e.g., inflammations, injuries and scars) can irritate and affect other areas of the body as interference fields or foci. If these interference fields are not treated in the long term, discomfort can occur elsewhere in the body due to the permanent irritation. The segment theory is based on nerve connections between the skin and the organs. According to this theory, each segment of the body causes reactions in certain areas of the skin, so-called head zones. Accordingly, if the skin reacts sensitively in a certain area, this may indicate a disease of the associated organ.
Function, effect and goals
The areas of application of neural therapy are very diverse. By physicians who use neural therapy, it is mainly used for these complaints:
- Pain around the musculoskeletal system
- Muscle and nerve pain
- Rheumatic complaints
- Headache
- Tinnitus
- Vertigo
At the beginning of neural therapy is a detailed medical history and a physical examination. Some neural therapists also use injections for diagnosis. If after such an injection elsewhere complaints disappear immediately, this is called a second phenomenon. As a rule, the treatment is carried out in two steps: local treatment and remediation of the interference field. Before injecting the local anesthetic, the therapist palpates the skin with his fingers to identify painful areas. A local anesthetic is injected into these areas of the skin. The treatment sometimes needs to be repeated until the discomfort disappears completely. There are also deep stitch techniques where the anesthetic is injected into trigger points in the painful muscles. Interference fields, such as scars, are treated by multiple injections around the interference field. If necessary, the injection can also be placed next to vertebral bodies or in the area of larger nerve cords. The search for interference fields is like detective work. Many interference fields or chronic inflammatory foci are located in the area of sinuses, teeth, tonsils and ears, but also in the area of the pelvis. The effect of neural therapy has not yet been adequately researched; there are only a few studies that have found positive effects, but due to small numbers of participants, they cannot make a generally valid statement. Even medical experts do not agree on the effectiveness, so the costs are not covered by public health insurance and must be paid privately. We owe the discovery of neural therapy to an accidental malpractice that the physician Ferdinand Huneke (1891 – 1966) made on his sister. He wanted to inject her with the local anesthetic procaine to relieve her headache, but accidentally hit a vein instead of the muscle. Her headache disappeared in just a few seconds afterwards. Through further experimentation, he discovered that locally injected procaine also worked. He injected the local anesthetic into a scar on a patient’s lower leg, whereupon her chronic shoulder pain disappeared in seconds. This phenomenon is named after him as the “seconds phenomenon according to Huneke”. From these observations, Huneke concluded that complaints in certain areas of the body could be treated by injections in other areas.
Risks, side effects and dangers
In general, neural therapy is an effective method with few side effects. If the injection needle is placed competently, side effects such as irritation of nerves, organs and blood vessels are rare. At most, there may be a small bruise or a feeling of muscle soreness. However, if the needle is placed incorrectly, it can result in nerve damage, including permanent nerve damage, and circulatory collapse. Internal bleeding is also possible. For this reason, the anesthetic may only be injected into the skin for people who need to take blood-thinning medications. Most often the anesthetic procaine is used, but it can cause allergic reactions, in the worst case anaphylactic shock. In that case, an alternative agent must be injected. Mild side effects such as a dizzy feeling, some dizziness and fluctuations in blood pressure and pulse usually last only a short time. Neural therapy should not be used in cases of severe infectious diseases, immune diseases, corresponding allergies (especially to the anesthetic itself), skin inflammations in the affected skin area. Patients with low blood pressure (hypotension) and a tendency to circulatory collapse should consult the practitioner before treatment. Those looking for a good neural therapist should make absolutely sure that he or she has undergone sound training, because physicians must have sound anatomical knowledge in order to inject the anesthetic in the correct location.
