What Is Neural Therapy?

• Neural Therapy is a treatment approach used for chronic pain and chronic illness that involves the injection of local anesthetics, most commonly procaine, into specific areas of the body such as scars, nerves, autonomic ganglia, trigger points, glands, and other tissues.

• The goal is to address dysfunction within the nervous system that may contribute to ongoing symptoms. Neural Therapy is based on the observation that previous injuries, surgeries, infections, dental problems, and other forms of tissue irritation can continue to send abnormal signals through the autonomic nervous system long after the original problem appears to have healed.

Historical Background of Neural Therapy

• The roots of Neural Therapy can be traced to the late 19th and early 20th centuries, following the discovery of local anesthetics and their effects on the nervous system.
• In 1905, German chemist Alfred Einhorn developed procaine (Novocain), a synthetic local anesthetic that became widely used in medicine. Physicians soon observed that injections of local anesthetics occasionally produced effects beyond temporary pain relief.
• During the 1920s and 1930s, German physicians began exploring the broader physiological effects of local anesthetics. French surgeon René Leriche used injections around the sympathetic nervous system to treat pain and circulatory disorders, helping establish the concept that the autonomic nervous system plays an important role in chronic disease and pain.
• The development of modern Neural Therapy is most closely associated with German physicians Ferdinand and Walter Huneke. In 1925, Ferdinand Huneke observed that an intravenous injection of procaine unexpectedly relieved a patient's chronic migraine. Over the following years, the Huneke brothers investigated similar observations and developed the concept of treating chronic illness through targeted local anesthetic injections. 
• In 1940, Ferdinand Huneke reported a case in which injecting a painful scar on a patient's leg resulted in the immediate resolution of chronic shoulder pain. This observation led to the concept of the "interference field"—an area of previous injury, surgery, infection, or inflammation that may continue to influence other parts of the body through the nervous system.
• Throughout the mid-20th century, Neural Therapy became increasingly established in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Physicians in these countries developed diagnostic and treatment protocols focused on the autonomic nervous system, scars, dental health, ganglia, and other potential sources of abnormal neurological signaling.

It is a safe medicine and has been used at renowned anti-aging clinics, such as Dr. Ana Aslan’s in Romania, where she treated Bob Hope, Cary Grant, Marilyn Monroe, Winston Churchill, and others.

• Today, Neural Therapy continues to be practiced all over the world. It is used by physicians trained in the technique as part of an integrative approach to the evaluation and treatment of chronic pain, autonomic dysfunction, and certain chronic medical conditions.

The Role of the Nervous System

• The autonomic nervous system regulates many involuntary functions throughout the body, including circulation, digestion, hormone regulation, immune activity, and organ function. When an area of tissue remains irritated or dysfunctional, abnormal nerve signaling may develop and contribute to persistent symptoms.
• Neural Therapy seeks to identify these areas and restore normal nervous system function through the use of local anesthetic injections.

What Is an Interference Field?

• A central concept in Neural Therapy is the "interference field."
• An interference field is an area of the body that has been affected by trauma, surgery, infection, inflammation, or dental disease and may continue to influence other parts of the body through nervous system connections.

Examples may include:

• Surgical scars
• Dental infections or previous dental procedures
• Sinus infections
• Areas of previous injury
• Chronically inflamed tissues
• Symptoms are not always located where the interference field is found. 

A problem in one area of the body may contribute to symptoms elsewhere through neurological connections.

How is Neural Therapy Performed?

Neural Therapy uses small injections of local anesthetic into specific structures, including:

• Scars
• Trigger points
• Peripheral nerves
• Autonomic ganglia
• Skin and connective tissue
• Areas suspected of functioning as interference fields

Treatment is individualized and based on a person's medical history, symptoms, physical examination, and response to previous treatments.

Theories Behind Neural Therapy

Several mechanisms have been proposed to explain how Neural Therapy may work.

1. Nervous System Regulation

• Local anesthetics can temporarily restore normal electrical activity in nerve tissue. This may help interrupt abnormal signaling patterns and support normalization of nervous system function.  By restoring the membrane potential for only 30 min or 1 h through injection of a local anesthetic, the function of the cell's ion pumps in the cell wall is restored for this period of time. The cell uses this time to eliminate a sufficient amount of the "toxic waste" to, often lastingly, regain normal function. This phenomenon can explain the often curative effect of the Neural Therapy injection.

2. Fascial Connections

• Fascia is the connective tissue network that surrounds muscles, organs, nerves, and other structures throughout the body. Restrictions within this system may contribute to pain and altered movement patterns. Treatment of scars and other tissues may influence these fascial relationships.

3. Extracellular Matrix (Ground System)

• The extracellular matrix is the environment surrounding cells that supports communication, circulation, nutrient exchange, and tissue function. Changes within this system may affect multiple physiological processes throughout the body.  The ground-system theory is favored by most neural therapists today, even though it is still generally poorly understood. The ground system refers to a new view in understanding the extracellular space.
• The extracellular space is an all-interconnected space in the body. It is composed at the microscopic level of the fibroblasts, the free-ending autonomic nerve endings, the free-ending arterial capillary, the beginning capillaries of the lymphatic and venous system, the cell membrane of the adjacent cell, and the actual material that fills the extracellular space, which is created by the fibroblasts: glycoproteins and proteoglycans. The ground system has certain chemical and physical properties such as electric conductivity, ionic properties, and osmotic properties.
•  The proteoglycans and glycoproteins of the extracellular space have been shown to behave exactly like liquid crystal. A manipulation on a small part of the system can have a dramatic effect on the entire ground system by changing the above-mentioned properties.
  
   

4. Lymphatic Function

•   Experiments by Fleckenstein, in the early 1970s, have shown that the injection of novocaine into a lymph node or a lymphatic channel can lead to dramatic widening of the lymphatic channel and to dramatically increased speed of transportation of lymph fluid along the system. He demonstrated also that the lymphatic system can be in chronic spasm in certain areas of the body, not allowing any transportation through its canals. This state can exist for long periods. After injecting a local anaesthetic into the affected lymph node, the lymphatic system frequently instantly resumes normal activity.
   
• An injection of local anaesthetic into the tonsil tissue frequently can relieve chronic migraine headaches.  The results are often lasting.

Conditions Commonly Addressed

Neural Therapy has been used in the management of:

• Chronic  pain conditions
• Headaches and migraines
• Neck and back pain
• Pelvic pain
• Scar-related  symptoms
• Certain autonomic nervous system disorders
• Chronic musculoskeletal complaints
• PTSD
• Depression, insomnia
• Trauma
• Whiplash injuries
• Concussion and post-stroke recovery
• Chronic gut issues

Treatment plans are individualized, and not all conditions are appropriate for Neural Therapy.

Treatment Responses

• Responses to treatment vary. Some individuals experience immediate improvement, while others notice gradual changes over hours or days. Multiple treatments may be required, particularly when more than one interference field is contributing to symptoms.

Important Considerations

• Neural Therapy is intended to complement appropriate medical evaluation and diagnosis. Before treatment, a thorough assessment should be performed to rule out underlying medical conditions that require other forms of care.

• Careful patient selection and a detailed understanding of prior injuries, surgeries, infections, and dental history are important parts of the Neural Therapy process.