Neural therapy according to Huneke is a relatively new treatment method in alternative medicine. What it is exactly, how it should work, how often it can be used and how high the costs are.
- In segmental therapy of neural therapy, injections with locally acting procain are made in certain areas of the skin.
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With neural therapy, injections with local anesthetics are placed in certain areas of the body. They should help to normalize body functions and activate self-healing powers.
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What is neural therapy?
Huneke neural therapy was invented by the Huneke siblings in the 1920s. They discovered that local anesthetics (preferably procain, but also lidocaine) can not only be used for anesthesia, but can also be used as therapy. The local anesthetic is injected into one place during neural therapy and is intended to interrupt or permanently eliminate irritation at distant places. The therapy is offered by doctors and naturopaths with additional training in acupuncture and neural therapy.
Areas of application of neural therapy
Neural therapy is used for functional complaints. The goal is to regulate malfunctions in the body. So-called reflex zones or HEAD zones are used to determine the injection sites. Reflex zones or HEAD zones are skin areas associated with the site of action. A prerequisite for effectiveness is an intact ability of the body to regulate, which decreases with chronic diseases.
A distinction is made between segment therapy and interference field therapy within neural therapy. In segment therapy, the injection of mostly procaine relieves the pain. Indications for this are:
With interference field therapy, however, the interference field is switched off by injection. In neural therapy, interference fields are chronically stressful factors that are themselves unremarkable and do not cause any symptoms, but which then have an effect in other areas of the body. An interference field is said to irritate body functions permanently. Typical interference fields are mainly scars, tonsils (tonsils), sinuses, prostate, ovaries and the tooth-jaw area. If these are inflamed, according to the neural therapists, they can also trigger chronic diseases throughout the body, such as rheumatoid arthritis, glaucoma or asthma.
How and how often is neural therapy carried out?
The effects of neural therapy should come quickly. If there is no improvement in chronic symptoms after the sixth treatment, the method should be abandoned.
Effectiveness of neural therapy
Neural therapy is based on the assumption that the autonomic nervous system is to be understood as a switching point between body and psyche and that disease processes can therefore be influenced via the autonomic nerve pathways. Neural therapy can work if physical dysfunction is accompanied by pain, dizziness, or other symptoms that are reversible. In pain therapy, the effectiveness of segmental therapy in neural therapy has been proven and is also used in pain clinics and rheumatism centers, but interference field therapy has not been scientifically proven.
Side effects and risks of neural therapy
An allergic reaction to procaine can occur as a side effect. If not done correctly, neural therapy has some risks. Incorrectly placed injections of interference field therapy can cause various types of damage:
- internal bleeding
- Nerve damage up to paraplegia
- Circulatory collapse
Since injections up to internal organs are used in interference field therapy, this is to be regarded as very critical and also dangerous. In the past, deaths from incorrect injection technology have been documented.
In people who take blood-thinning medication, local anesthetics should only be injected into the skin.
A doctor can be searched for postcodes on the website of the German Society for Acupuncture and Neural Therapy.
Neural Therapy Costs
Whether the health insurance company pays for the neural therapy depends on the type of treatment. The segment therapy is partially taken over if it is carried out by an approved doctor. Interference field therapy is always a private service, the cost of which must be borne by the person concerned.
Neural therapy costs between 20 and 50 euros per treatment. The prices are set out in the guide for doctors, but the prices as private payers can vary significantly. In the case of naturopaths, the costs for neural therapy usually have to be paid in full.
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