Neural Therapy

Neural Therapy was originally discovered in Germany by Ferdinand and Walter Huneke in 1925. It involves the injection of Procaine, a common local anesthetic, into various but very specific areas: autonomic ganglia, peripheral nerves, scars, glands, acupuncture points, trigger points, skin, and other tissues. Neural Therapy is based on the theory that trauma can produce long-standing disturbances in the tissues.

These electrical disturbances, called “interference fields,” cause membrane instability and typically trigger abnormal autonomic nervous system responses. Interference fields can be found almost anywhere in the body and are often far from the part of the body experiencing symptoms. For instance, a scar on one’s abdomen (interference field) could be the cause of chronic back pain or dysfunction somewhere else in the body. Injection of scars with local anesthetic is a common procedure. The traditional way of finding interference fields is by taking a careful history of the patient’s problem to look for an injury, operation, or illness in the months preceding the onset of symptoms and thorough medical exam. An interference field acts as a stimulus to the autonomic nervous system.

A pain management doctor will use Neural Therapy to correct the dysfunction in the autonomic nervous system by injecting a local anesthetic into the interference field. Once this occurs, the organs, glands, and body tissues can function better, eliminating chronic disease conditions.

Usually several treatments are needed to bring about significant improvement. Neural therapy is not always effective on the first attempt. However, even a very short response is encouraging and indicates that treatment should be attempted again. A pain doctor will often advise their patients to persevere and continue with pain management for optimum results. Each time an interference field is treated, there should be a longer response. Treatment is then repeated until it is no longer required. Occasionally, correctly administered Neural Therapy injection can instantly resolve chronic, long standing pain after one session.

Neural Therapy is one of the best modalities for chronic pain treatment after surgery. The pain could be located in any part of the body. It could be next to the scar or any distance from it. I remember one instance when, after the injection in the foot, the chronic shoulder pain was resolved. My personal experience shows excellent results for post-surgery pain that’s usually resolved after a few sessions.