Overview of Neural Therapy
When the body is injured or inflamed, an area of scar tissue can be produced, changing the electrical flow of the nervous system. This restricted flow can cause blood vessel constriction leading to body malfunction. Using Neural Therapy, the injured area where the scar is can be treated to restore normal nervous system function.

Neural therapy is a treatment modality developed in Germany and Russia over the last 75 years and addresses dysfunction of the Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) in a targeted, specific and systematic way. Other treatment modalities also work by modifying the ANS such as chiropractic therapy, cranio-sacral therapy, osteopathic manipulation care, etc., but the health care providers are rarely aware of the ANS and are not utilizing the current physiological and anatomical knowledge base to optimize the outcome.

For more than 70 years, neural therapy has been used by German physicians to identify and treat the underlying cause of pain and illness, from migraine to irritable bowel syndrome. Its success is based on finding and treating foci of electro physiological instability known as interference fields.

Research has show that the ANS is commonly disturbed by a selected number of factors:

1. membrane instability caused by nutritional and Hormonal deficits
2. food allergies
3. toxicity from metals etc
4. emotional factors: unresolved psycho-emotional issues create chronic arousal of the ANS via the limbic hypothalamic ANS axis
5. occulsal problems - pain message
6. chronic infections ie toxins in teeth; affected nerve and brain structure
7. electromagnetic and biophysical stress
8. an interference field also known as a "focus"
9. structural problems
10. trauma and bleeding

Objective: Introduce remedies directly into the matrix and expedite the action of the organism through bypassing the usual assimilation methods.

Contra Indications to Neural Therapy:

• cancer
• genetic illness
• nutritional deficiency
• diabetes
• tuberculosis
• psychiatric illness except depression
• end state of a chronic illness

Interference fields can cause referred pain

Interference fields can be found almost anywhere in the body and are often far from the part of the body experiencing symptoms. For example, an old appendix scar might cause migraine headache, or a wisdom tooth extraction scar may cause chronic low-back pain. For the most part, these relationships are totally unpredictable and interference fields must be searched for everywhere in the body.

How to find interference fields

1. Look for an injury, operation or illness preceding the patient's problem.

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. Presumably, part of the body's response to the injury or illness was a local "alarm reaction" involving the autonomic nervous system. The autonomic nervous system changes circulation to a body part when an emergency affects that area of the body. Interference fields seem to develop when the autonomic nervous system control does not return to normal after the emergency.

2. Palpate possible trouble spots while testing the patient's muscle strength.

Another way of finding interference fields is by making use of the body's electromagnetic field. The electromagnetic field of the body depends on the generation of electricity by healthy tissue. If tissue is not receiving adequate circulation, as in an interference field, it will be less vigorous and not have as strong an electromagnetic field over it.

The interference field can be "boosted" temporarily by another person (usually the physician), touching the spot with his or her hand. When this occurs, there is a generalized inhibition of all the patient's muscles. Thus, the physician can search for interference fields by touching possible spots while testing the patient's muscle strength.

What conditions are likely to be caused by an interference field?

Any symptom related to bodily functions controlled by the autonomic nervous system, such as palpitations, brochospasm, indigestion, constipation, sexual dysfunction, dysmenorrhea or even cold hands or feet, may be partially or totally caused by an interference field.

Chronic pain—especially migraine—often has an autonomic component such as nausea or sweating. An interference field may also be suspected if sciatica or any other leg pain is accompanied by coldness or change in skin color.

How does neural therapy treat interference fields?

If an interference field is found, it can be easily treated by injecting it with a local anesthetic. Caine anesthetics are cell membrane stabilizers and act on interference fields in the same way that lidocaine does in treating supraventricular arrhythmias.

The effect of injecting interference fields is immediate. There is sometimes sudden relief of symptoms—a "lightning reaction"— but any response typically will occur within the first few days.

In recent years a non-injection therapy has been developed which seems to work as well as the -caine anesthetics. A proprietary electrical device, called a Tenscam® is held approximately 18 inches from the body and directed at the interference field for a minute or two.

How long does the relief last?

More often than not, response to treatment of an interference field is temporary, sometimes lasting even less than a day. However, even a very short response is encouraging and indicates that treatment should be attempted again. Each time an interference field is treated, there should be a longer response. Treatment is then repeated until it is no longer required.

How safe is neural therapy?

Neural therapy is a remarkably safe medical treatment. The most commonly used anesthetics (procaine and lidocaine) rarely cause allergic reactions. Allergic reactions to these anesthetics in the past seem to have been caused by preservatives such as methylparaben. These preservatives are no longer used by most physicians practising neural therapy.

Occasionally, patients will feel faint for a few minutes after neural therapy injections. This may be caused by "needle fright" or by a short-lasting lowering of the blood pressure caused by the -caine anesthetic itself. Puncture of an internal organ is a theoretical possibility with certain injections. Because the needles used are of small caliber, this is rarely (if ever) of any consequence. The one exception is the lung which, if punctured, may cause a pneumothorax. For this reason, special care must be taken with any deep injection into the chest wall or near the lungs. Another area of injection that carries a slight risk is the head and neck. Injection of a large volume of anaesthetic into an artery could precipitate a seizure. To avoid this, injections in the head and neck are always performed slowly, drawing back on the syringe from time to time to make sure the needle has not penetrated an artery.

What conditions may prevent successful treatment?

• Medications. The most common reason for poor response to neural therapy treatment is the presence of medication. Any drug with a prefix of "anti-" tends to block the autonomic nervous system, e.g., antibiotics, anti-inflammatories, antidepressants, antihypertensives. Illicit drugs will block it as well.
  
• Poor nutrition. Inadequate nutrition is much more common than most people realize. Mineral and vitamin deficiencies must be corrected or interference fields will either recur or the response to treatment will not increase with time.
  
• Toxins. Drugs, tobacco and alcohol may be considered toxins and can cause a poor response to neural therapy. Environmental toxins such as organic solvents, herbicides and fungicides also affect some people. The metals in dental amalgam fillings, especially mercury, poison the autonomic nervous system and may defeat neural therapy.

Treatment cost is $50 for the office visit and a range between $12 and $40 depending on the remedies used.