Neural Therapy has been in wide use in Europe
since the 1940's. Since that time it has been taught and
practiced safely around the world with great success and
minimal negative effects. It is very effective in
treating a wide variety of conditions by using
injections into nerve sites, acupuncture points, scars,
muscle trigger points and other tissues to relieve pain
and dysfunction throughout the body.
Neural Means Nerves
Nerves need to flow freely for optimal body function to
occur. The autonomic nervous system unconsciously
controls all body functions such as heart rate,
digestion, perspiration, breathing, blood flow and just
about anything else that occurs without your conscious
direction. When nerve flow is interfered with, then the
nervous system regulation of connected body parts is
compromised. This compromise can result in poor
function, pain, disability and disease. The purpose of
neural therapy is to unblock the interference to normal
functioning by using very specific injections into the
areas of disturbance. The injections contain sterile
homeopathic medicines and/or a local anesthetic such as
procaine. The sites of injection are determined by your
history of trauma and surgery, location of symptoms,
autonomic patterns or through applied kinesiology
methods.
Fight, Flight or Freeze
Any stress on the body, whether physical, psychological
or toxic, will activate the sympathetic nervous system
and create what is referred to as “a fight or flight
response”. This could be the result of a car accident,
surgery, emotional distress, fear, toxic exposure or any
threat or perceived threat to life or of injury. In a
natural healing response, once the stress is removed,
the nervous system should reset itself. Unfortunately,
for many people the modern stresses are so great and
continuous, there may be no chance for the body to
return itself to normal. A local area then becomes
locked into a constant fight or flight or “freeze”
state. This area becomes a disturbance field and can for
many years interfere with the normal nervous system
regulation in the body. A very common example of this
would be a whiplash injury.
Whiplash Injury
Often a few chiropractic adjustments, acupuncture
treatments or physiotherapy will alleviate the symptoms.
Frequently, these and other treatments do not help and a
person finds themselves in a chronic pain situation.
This type of trauma not only damages muscles, ligaments,
joints and tendons, it also injures the sympathetic
nervous system chain that lies at the front of the neck.
Many years after an injury, a doctor skilled in neural
therapy can identify the nerve ganglion or site that is
holding the charge and normalize it with neural therapy
injection. The patient can then begin to experience a
healing response.
How does it Work?
Specific homeopathic preparations, chelating agents,
vitamins and/or local anesthetics are used in the
injection solution. The homeopathic medicine is specific
for the area being treated, whether it is for organ
tissue, nerve, muscles and joints or trauma. An injected
anesthetic will cause a nerve to be numbed by changing
the positive and negative charges on the membrane of the
nerve tissue so that no sensation can be passed along
such as when your lips become numb after a visit to the
dentist. In neural therapy the intention is not to
anaesthetize or numb the nerve, but rather to change the
membrane potential temporarily, with the expectation
that when the anesthetic wears off, the membrane charges
and nerve function will return to normal. Think about
how your computer occasionally is overloaded with too
many programs running and windows open. It begins to
malfunction, running slowly and freezing up. Usually the
first thing you do is shut everything down and reboot
the computer. After that it will work fine again. In the
same way Neural Therapy is like rebooting the “body
computer”, the autonomic nervous system, to reset
regulation and normalize function. Homeopathic medicines
assist in the local healing response.
Conditions Treated by Neural Therapy
Neural therapy is a nervous system regulation therapy,
so just about anything short of cancer and metabolic
disease can be positively affected. The more common
conditions that benefit from it include: back and neck
pain, posttraumatic conditions, chronic pain from
whiplash and head injury, joint pain, muscle pain, and
athletic injuries. Jaw and head pain, post-surgical pain
(including dental), digestive disturbances, sinusitis,
hypothyroid, muscle injuries, organ dysfunctions and
scar disturbances also benefit from neural therapy.
Integrated Approach to Neural Therapy
In the course of naturopathic treatment, neural therapy
is only one part of an integrated treatment program that
may address many other areas affecting well being. As
one area moves into healing it is important to address
the deeper layers as they arise. Old pains may surface,
pain may move around. Often there are emotional charges
held in the neural focus and the physical release may
possibly be accompanied by a memory or emotional
response. This is a normal indication of a healing
response.
Frequently, therapies such as spinal adjustments or
acupuncture that have had limited success can be more
effective when applied at the same time as, or after the
disturbance fields have been cleared. The effectiveness
of psychotherapy can be enhanced. Detoxification may be
required to improve autonomic control. Environmental or
heavy metal toxins can interfere with the nervous system
function and if identified should be cleared. The
naturopathic approach is to treat the body as a whole
and to integrate all the systems to optimize a healing
response.
Scars
Scar tissue is a common cause of disturbance fields and
any scar whether a small one from a childhood fall, from
dental surgery or a major post surgical scar will set up
interference. A scar has an electric charge about five
times that of normal skin and can disrupt nerve flow.
Scars that cross acupuncture meridian channels can block
energy to those related organs and body parts.
A scar will hold injured or cut fascia, muscles and skin
together, but it is not as flexible as the original
tissue, so the underlying tissues cannot move as freely.
George Goodheart D.C. uses the following analogy: “If
someone pulls down hard on the left side of the shirt
you are wearing, it makes it more difficult for you to
raise your left arm. Treating your left arm would do
little to relieve the decreased range of motion of your
arm as long as the tension is exerted on your shirt.
Loosening the tension on your shirt hem, however, does
effectively produce a marked increase in the range of
motion of your left arm because you are getting to the
cause of your problem and fixing it.” The treatment of
scars with neural therapy, even decades old ones, has
consistently been an important factor in increasing
mobility, reducing pain and improving movement and
function.
Trigger Points
Frequently a major component of chronic pain is tight,
contracted or spastic muscle that is resistant to
stretch, massage or mobilization therapies. Muscles are
held in contraction by nerve impulses to the local
neuromuscular junctions. The result is that perpetual
inappropriate impulses cause a continuous muscle
contraction. By injecting the affected neuromuscular
trigger point, it is possible to break the ongoing
pattern of spasm, allowing muscle to release and
eventual return to normal function.
Is the treatment Painful?
Nobody likes to get needle injections, especially into
painful or vulnerable areas. The amount of discomfort
depends on the type of treatment that is being done.
Injections into nerve points are more uncomfortable than
painful. Acupuncture points and subcutaneous injections
may prick. Scar treatments may be painful. Trigger point
treatments by their nature are injections into already
tender areas, and a short painful "twitch" response is
actually a good sign. No matter which of these reactions
you experience, they last only a moment and any
discomfort is gone immediately. As many patients say:
"short term pain for long term gain".
What to expect
It usually requires about six sessions to determine what
benefit neural therapy will have. Often there is a one
or two day improvement and then the old symptoms return.
Sometimes the improvements occur gradually and in
conjunction with other therapies. Occasionally emotional
blocks are released and strong emotional responses may
occur, this is a healthy sign. As we work through a
history of compensation, other body parts may
re-experience pain and discomfort, again this is a
positive sign.
Side or Negative Effects
The negative effects tend to be of a temporary nature
and may precede improvements. Mild bruising may occur
and may be unavoidable especially with scar and
occasionally with trigger point treatments. Occasionally
an injected trigger point may hurt for a day, it is
relieved with an ice pack. Some temporary numbness may
occur that passes quickly. Some patients feel
temporarily light headed. Some patients report that they
feel worse for a few days, followed by a great relief in
symptoms. Each person has his or her own individual
response. Report any effects to your doctor.
