Neural therapy is a medical treatment for chronic pain. While not widely known in North America, it is an established treatment that was discovered in Germany and is used by over 2,000 physicians in Europe who have been trained in the technique. It involves treating localized disturbances in the autonomic nervous system that remain disturbed due to chronic stress after an injury. These are identified on the basis of a medical symptom history and confirmed with a specialized physical examination. They are treated with a specific formulation of procaine, a local anesthetic, or with specific electromagnetic frequencies that normalize electrical nerve conduction.
The foci of disturbance, called interference fields, are electrophysiologically unstable and emit abnormal neurological signals to which the autonomic nervous system reacts. Interference fields seldom draw attention to themselves and are often found in unlikely places, – surgical scars being the stereotypical example. Even stranger, is the fact that the autonomic nervous system may react to interference fields by creating symptoms in remote areas of the body. For example an appendix scar may be a source of long-standing migraine headaches.
The autonomic nervous system reacts to interference fields in many different ways. Myofascial or other pain syndromes may occur. Visceral function may be disturbed, resulting in illnesses such as asthma, GERD, angina, irritable bowel syndrome, menstrual irregularities, etc. In addition, virtually all orthopaedic medical conditions have an autonomic nervous system component, at least in part.
Interference fields are not rare. In fact they can be found in a substantial portion of patients in any medical practice, and in particular the practice of orthopaedic medicine. They should be looked for in any condition where the autonomic nervous system is involved, which includes most pain syndromes.
Interference fields may be found by two different methods. One is by careful history taking. A key element of the history is a latent period of a few weeks between the illness or injury (e.g. surgical procedure) and the onset of symptoms. The other method is by physical examination. Subtle changes in autonomic tone around the interference field are sought and a technique called autonomic response testing is used to confirm the diagnosis.
Treatment is the easier part. The classic method is to infiltrate the interference field with dilute (preservative-free) procaine or lidocaine, followed by an intravenous bolus into a convenient vein on the same side of the body. The rationale for this treatment is that interference fields are caused by local cell membrane instability. A caine anaesthetic (through its cell membrane-stabilizing properties), restores the electrical potential, and helps normalize the physiology of the tissues. This effect lasts longer than one would expect from local anaesthetics and with repeat treatments the interference field is often permanently abolished.