Neural therapy, also known as therapeutic local anesthesia (TLA) or therapeutic neural blockade, is the injection of local anesthetics into carefully selected points of the body, through which a large variety of chronic conditions can be greatly improved. Neural therapy is a comprehensive healing system very well known in Europe and practiced by many physicians, especially in Germany. The holistic therapy focuses on the relief of chronic pain and long-term illness. These symptoms, practitioners say, can be stopped by injecting local anesthetics into scars, acupuncture points, peripheral nerves, and glands.

Two doctors, the Huneke brothers of Germany, introduced neural therapy into medicine in 1928 when they rediscovered the therapeutic effect of local anesthetics. They introduced intra-and para-venous procaine injection therapy as a manner to eliminate interference fields. Interference fields are areas of chronic inflammatory material that cannot be removed or metabolized and which consist of the infiltration of lymphocytes/ plasmocytes and a disaggregation of the base substance. For example, scars create aberrant electrical fields which create confusion in the nervous system. Neural therapy works to take the aberrant signals and shut them down so the nervous system can reset itself, allowing the body to return to homeostasis. Neural therapy, as suggested by its name, aims to rectify the functioning of the autonomic nervous system of the body.

Neural therapy has been used in the treatment of hundreds of conditions, including depression, hormonal imbalances, dizziness, allergies, asthma, skin diseases, hemorrhoids, ulcers, chronic bowel problems, prostate and bladder problems, migraines, kidney disease, arthritis, back pain, as well other soft-tissue injuries.

Benefits of Neural Therapy

Clinical experience has shown that neural therapy may be used for a number of conditions and issues and that the benefits include:

Stabilizes membranes of nerves working to reduce pain. Stabilizes mast cells, which is often associated with allergy symptoms.
Promotes vasodilation, which increases circulation and brings new blood to areas in need.
Decreases capillary leakage of red and white blood cells.
Helps prevent edema.
Stimulates vascular growth factors and vascular regeneration to promote healing.
Reduces neck or back pain and solves muscle spasms.
Fights sinus congestion, inflammation, and infections in the body.
Improves quality of sleep.

Here’s How it Works

Neural therapy works by correcting dysfunctions in the autonomic nervous system. Two German physicians, Ferdinand and Walter Huneke, created the therapy and view these dysfunctions as interference fields that are caused by damaged tissue (tonsillectomy, infected tooth, scars, injuries, etc.). Eliminating these disturbances of the body’s electrophysiology, or interference fields, with precise trigger point injections, allows the organs, glands, nervous system, and body tissues to function better and eliminate chronic disease conditions. One possible explanation for this improvement is that neural therapy increases circulation to the injured organs.

One of the most accepted medical theories of neural therapy is the ground-system theory. The ground-system refers to the extracellular space (the matrix) composed of the fibroblast in interstitial fluids, where there are endings of the autonomic nervous system, ending capillaries of the arterial system, and the beginning capillaries of the venous and lymphatic systems. The proper function of this space is necessary for the health of the cells, organs, systems, and the whole body. Neural therapy aims to regulate the abnormal neuronal information (signals) within the ground-system.

The various techniques utilized in neural therapy include:

Direct infiltration of scars or affected area
Autonomic ganglia or plexus blocks
Cranial nerve blocks
Peripheral nerve blocks
Perivascular injections
Intraspinal injections: epidural, paravertebral, etc.
Segmental therapy
Injection into foci
Injection into affected joints
Acupuncture point injections
Ear acupuncture injections

The therapy involves injecting a small amount of anesthetic into certain key biologic points or scars in order to free energy blocks in the physical body. Very small needles are used to minimize discomfort. In many ways, it is analogous to acupuncture but more powerful in some situations. More often than not, response to treatment of an interference field is temporary, sometimes lasting 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 repeated until it is no longer required.

“I often explain to my patients that this is like having an irritatingly slow and erratic computer: the solution we all know is to reboot, and upon starting, it now works fine. Neural therapy treatment might be regarded as an ‘autonomic reboot’.”
DR. HAL BROWN, ND, DC, RAC

Science and Safety

It is completely safe to use neural therapy for a number of diseases. However, patients have often reported having felt slight pain after the injections, and slight bruising. There is numbness in the area, which has been injected for a short while. A few patients have also reported having experienced sweating, headache, euphoria and emotional release after treatment. There can also be slight fatigue after the treatment.

In a recent study, it was concluded that neural therapy is an effective, non-toxic and inexpensive treatment for multiple sclerosis that can confer both immediate and long-term benefits.
source: Neural Therapy in the Treatment of Multiple Sclerosis: A pilot study, Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 1999

According to an article published by Dr. Dietrich Klinghardt, neural therapy is a suitable system for chronic pain and illness, acting to balance the illness-related dysfunction of the nervous system.
source: Neural Therapy by Dr. D. K. Klinghardt, 2002

A study conducted by Dr. Harris indicates that Neural Therapy is designed to repair the dysfunctions of the autonomic nervous system. He reported a case study on a 71-year-old male who complained of low back pain for over 40 years. The patient underwent neural therapy and reported a significant improvement in his lower back pain.
source: Effective Treatment of chronic pain by the integration of the neural therapy and prolotherapy, Gerald R. Harris, DO

A phenomenon well recognized by the Neural Therapy practitioner is emotional release after neural therapy injections which are typically unpleasant emotions associated with the trauma sites being injected.

NYCIM + Neural Therapy

At the New York Center of Innovative Medicine, Neural Therapy is one of many different treatments considered for each patient. However, the use of this therapy is only performed on patients after an in-depth initial evaluation reveals it would be necessary for your personalized program of treatment. Because each person is unique, and their health needs are different, there is no set protocol for using Neural Therapy nor is the patient able to request the use of this therapy if the medical team finds it would not be as helpful as another treatment or specific combination of therapies. The ultimate goal is the complete restoration of health in the most efficient and safe manner, and with so many therapeutic options, it is impossible to know if Neural Therapy is right for you without an initial evaluation at our clinic.