Neural therapy in gastroenterology
Abstract
Functional digestive disorders have a high incidence in the population. At the same time, they are a challenge for the treating gastroenterologist, as there is a close relationship between the physical symptoms and neurovegetative disorders. As the various therapy courses in this article show, neural therapy can provide an important service here. The procedure is not only used in pain therapy, but also in internal diseases for diagnosis and therapy.
Keywords
Neural therapy, gastroenterology, functional disorders of the digestive tract, local anesthesia, interference field, therapy-resistant pain.
A big problem of modern internal medicine is the increasingly mechanistic organ diagnostics and therapy without considering the overall condition of the body. The constant increase in chronic diseases also means increasing challenges in the field of internal medicine.
An important and difficult chapter in modern gastroenterology is the increase in functional disorders of the digestive tract that cannot be detected by equipment. The functional digestive disorders have a high economic importance due to their high incidence in the population. They are a common cause of hospitalization or sick leave and lead to repeat examinations without therapeutic consequences.
Functional gastroenterological disorders are characterized by a long course and mostly normal findings of the usual endoscopic and imaging diagnostics. They are an early sign of vegetative dysregulation and are often associated with negative psychological and social factors.
It is precisely in this area that integrative therapy methods have their strengths because functional digestive disorders can be treated well with regulatory medicine. There is a close relationship between neurovegetative disorders and the occurrence of digestive disorders. It is known that dysregulations of the autonomic nervous system can be well influenced by complementary medical methods.
Areas of application of neural therapy
In the area of gastroenterology, especially with the numerous functional disorders of the digestive tract, neural therapy can provide an important service. Due to the well-known active principles of local anesthetics (vasodilatation, sympathicolysis, stabilization of the cell membrane, normalization of blood perfusion), after appropriate neural therapeutic treatment, there is an irritation pause around the internal organs.
Illnesses that can be treated well by neural therapy (in this case also as mono therapy) are:
• Irritable stomach and bowel syndrome,
• acute gastritis,
• dysmotility of the esophagus,
• anorectal dysfunction,
• habitual constipation,
• biliary dysfunction,
• sphincter dysfunction.
As a complementary procedure, neural therapeutic treatment is useful for:
• cholecystopathies and hepatopathies,
• gastroesophageal reflux disease,
• chronic ulcer disease,
• ischemic and infectious colitis,
• acute and chronic pancreatitis
as
• inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
Diagnosis
Neural therapy can be used not only in pain therapy, but also in various internal diseases as a complete diagnostic and therapeutic system application. The so-called reflex symptoms can be used in the diagnostic area. These can be detected by palpation and emerge because every internal organ has a typical projection on the body surface, which in the case of organ pathology causes segmental changes. In regulatory medicine is the so-called threefold organ projection on the body surface known.
Initially, reflective signs of disease arise in the thoracic segments, which can be explained neurophysiologically by the segment-regulatory complex. The second organ projection is in segments C3 and C5 via afferents of the phrenic nerve and the last organ projection in segments C1, C2 via afferents of the vagus nerve. Using the principle of metamerism, the dermatome, myotome, sclerotome, enterotome and neurotome react uniformly and each of these structures, which are supplied by the same spinal nerve, can be reached, or influenced by the others. Using the diagnostic examination techniques commonly used in neural therapy, such as superficial and deep palpation, one can detect the reflex signs of the internal organs on the surface of the body.
The organ projection in the shoulder and neck segments C1 to C5 via afferents of the vagus and phrenic nerves refers to the following organs:
• Heart,
• Lung,
• Stomach,
• Pancreas,
• Liver, Gallbladder and
• Colon.
It is not uncommon for such projection pain to be misinterpreted as humero scapular periarthritis. The link between the vagus, trigeminal and cervical marrow at levels C1 to C3 can lead to headaches and dizziness in several internal diseases (irritable bowel, IBD, chronic inflammation of the liver and gallbladder, stomach diseases).
Therapy
The common use of neural therapy in organ pathology consists of the following applications of local anesthetics (procaine or lidocaine 1%):
• 1 ml lidocaine or procaine 1% is administered intra- and peri-venously. Alternatively, infusions of procaine are increasingly administered.
• Wheal series paravertebral bilaterally in the organ-corresponding dermatomes.
• Wheals in C3, C4, anterior edge of the trapezius with correspondingly transmitted pain symptoms.
Furthermore, segmental trigger points and scars are treated with neural therapy. Pressure-sensitive spinous processes in cervical and thoracic spine region as well as irritated sternocostal joints or SI joint joints are included in the therapeutic scheme. In terms of the extended segment, if the peripheral techniques fail to respond, ganglia are also treated with neural therapy. A meticulous interference field search and neural therapeutic interference field treatment are mandatory in the therapy scheme (Fig. 1).
Fig. 1: The application of neural therapy in organ pathology consists of the intravenous and peri-venous administration of a local anesthetic. For this purpose, wheals are placed in the organ-corresponding dermatomes, among other things. © Jupiterimages
Therapy examples
Cholecystopathies or hepatopathies For example, if it is a cholecysto- or hepatopathy, the regimen would look like this:
1. Paravertebral wheals in the 8th to 11th segments and under the right costal arch
2. Wheals or infiltration of areas with muscular hypertonia paravertebral on the right and in the right upper abdomen as well as scar treatment in the segment
This organ scheme can be expanded by neural therapeutic infiltration of the right supraorbital nerve (here connection to the trigeminal nerve) and blockade of the celiac ganglion.
Internal organs as interference fields
Headache The internal organs can also have the character of an interference field, whereby every organ with chronic inflammation or chronic irritation has interference field potential and can cause segmental or distant complaints (e.g., pain, headache). There are several internal diseases that can cause a headache:
• chronic gastritis and gastric ulcer,
• IBD,
• liver and gallbladder diseases,
• ischemic and infectious colitis,
• heart and lung diseases as well
• various drugs.
Internal diseases with a typical headache pattern are e.g., chronic liver diseases and stomach diseases.
If the internal organ interference field is considered in the treatment of therapy-resistant headaches, the neural therapeutic approach would look like this:
1. Local segmental treatment in the head area
2. Trigger points in the cervical zone
3. Trigger points in the shoulder area
4. Occipital nerve infiltration
5. Intra-articular injections into the temporal artery, the facial artery, or the mandibular artery, possibly infiltration of the stellate ganglion
6. Additional neural therapy in the organ segment as described above
An unconventional use of local anesthetics for headaches caused by food intolerance is to rinse the mouth with small amounts of procaine or lidocaine 1%, 1–2 min before each meal. This leads to a blockage of the vegetative information for the allergogenic trigger, whereby he
is no longer recognized by the body. After 3–4 weeks there is no pathological reaction.
Cervical spine syndrome
The potential interference field character of the internal organs should always be considered in therapy-resistant pain syndromes, e.g., in the cervical spine syndrome. Because of anatomical and neurophysiological connections, cervicalgia can initially mean primary problems of the cervical spine. If the local neural therapeutic treatment cannot achieve symptom relief there, the interference fields in the head area would be sought and treated with neural therapy. Should the symptoms persist anyway, chronically inflamed internal organs would be considered and if applicable receive neural therapeutic co-treatment.
Shoulder pain Another example would be therapy-resistant shoulder pain. If the local infiltration is unsuccessful, activated trigger points in the trapezius muscle, levator scapulae, supraspinatus, infraspinatus and deltoideus muscles should be considered. In addition, cervical spine dysfunction should be examined and treated. Interference fields in the head area should be identified and treated with neural therapy. If the pain persists, you should investigate possible interference fields around the internal organs (Fig. 2).
Fig. 2: In the case of chronic head and shoulder pain, one should also think of possible interference fields around the inner organs. © MEV; simulated situation
Back pain
A common organic interference field is the sick intestine, especially in therapy-resistant back pain. The strained intestine can lead to pain syndromes via the autonomic nervous system as well as bio-mechanically and toxic. The bio-mechanical component is caused by lymphedema of the radix mesenterii when the intestine is overloaded. The radix mesenterii contains lymph vessels and lymph nodes. She starts at the frontal spine. Overloading the intestine and lymphedema lead to pathological tension and pressure conditions around the mesenteric root with the resulting pathological changes around the lumbar spine. Persistently negative eating habits that lead to abnormal intestinal filling put a strain on the intestines. There is an oversupply of proteins and carbohydrates as well as their decay products. The strained bowel can lead to changes in posture due to shifts in the spinal column and to impairment of the pelvic organs and the diaphragm. Metabolic stress leads to fatigue, and the chronically stressed bowel causes permanent impairment of the immune system
The neural therapeutic procedure for the intestinal disturbance field would include the following scheme:
1. Paravertebral infiltrations in the intestinal segment Th 10 to L3 (here either a series of wheals or intramuscular infiltrations)
2. Wheals along the colon
3. Injection of the umbilicus, possibly sacral epidural infiltration, and infiltration of the celiac ganglion
4. Interference fields outside the intestinal segment should also be considered (teeth, paranasal sinuses, etc.).
Colon hydrotherapy, the administration of zeolite and probiotics, changes in eating habits, fasting and stimulation of the abdominal muscles by means of an abdominal muscle pump can be used to improve intestinal homeostasis, regardless of the neural therapeutic treatment. Proven prokinetic agents in the gastrointestinal tract are ginger, peppermint oil, the fixed combination Iberogast and various herbal choleretics, e.g., artichoke extracts.
1. Case report
61-year-old patient presents with symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome of the diarrhea type. She reports an increase in the symptoms with slight additional stress such as traveling, giving a speech, or inviting guests. The physical examination shows a scar after appendectomy, otherwise no indication of interference fields. Neural therapeutic treatments follow once a week until symptoms and intensity are relieved. Then neural therapy depending on the situation, with wheals paravertebral in the intestinal segment (Th 10 to L3), preperiosteal deposits around the tender spinous processes, wheals along the colonic frame, infiltration of the navel, infiltration of the appendectomy scar. Care of the patient for 6 years with good symptom control.
Irritable bowel syndrome is a heterogeneous clinical picture, pathophysiologically known to be visceral hypersensitivity and disorders of intestinal motility, hyperactivity of the mast cells and pathological changes in the intestinal bacterial milieu. Several of these components can be positively influenced by neural therapy and controlled over the long term as part of a holistic concept.
2. Case report
17-year-old woman with a history of meteorism-type irritable bowel syndrome. Until now, it has got worse mostly due to stress at school, for 3 months long-term symptoms with abdominal pain and flatulence. The neural therapeutic anamnesis is empty except for an umbilical piercing 3 months ago. The neural therapeutic inspection and palpation give a bland result. The therapeutic scheme consists in the removal of the umbilical piercing (this required a lot of persuasion), in two injections of the umbilicus and the piercing canal, then complete suspension of the symptoms.
In the case report described, the umbilical piercing played the role of a second strike. A second hit can lead to excessive demands on the organism’s regulatory capacity. The neural therapeutic treatment in this case aims to achieve regulatory rationalization by treating the interference field. Usually, irritable bowel symptoms worsen due to infection, stress, psychosocial factors, and any other type of second strike that can lead to mucosal membrane irritation. The neural therapeutic treatment interrupts the flow of pathological information. The stimulus wave is switched off and the interference field is pushed back into a state of clinical latency.
3. Case report
49-year-old man in intensive care with acute, idiopathic, necrotizing pancreatitis. Intestinal pseudo-obstruction for 3 days. Frustrating attempts at therapy with prokinetics, neostigmine and decompression colonoscopy. Carried out was a single blockade of the celiac ganglion with 5 ml of procaine 1% per side. Recovery of the intestinal passage after a few hours.
At this point it should be mentioned that the intravenous administration of procaine in acute pancreatitis has become socially acceptable again. This is an effective analgesia without diminishing the motility of the intestine, there is a reduction in the need for further analgesics instead and the overall course is positively influenced. There is increasing scientific evidence of positive systemic effects of procaine in terms of analgesia, anti-inflammation, immunomodulation, and infection inhibition.
4. Case report
78-year-old man, hospitalized for acute upper GI bleeding with Xarelto. Therapeutically, he received endoscopic hemostasis and administration of high-dose proton pump inhibitors. During the admission he had a severe, dull headache, without localization. There was no improvement on Novalgin. If creatinine is at 2.4 mg / dl, no NSAIDs should be administered. Performing a neural therapeutic treatment in the stomach segment. Paravertebral wheals on both sides in the dermatomes Th 5 to Th 9, ventrally across the left costal arch as well as between the xyphoid and the navel, infiltration of the Vogler Point on the left, infiltration of a scar after cholecystectomy, injection into the pit of the stomach. After 30 minutes there was a clear improvement in the intensity of the headache except for a slightly tolerable residue. Repeat 2 days later.
Repeat treatments are often necessary with neural therapy. The intervals between treatments are very individual.
Final remark
If you look closely, neural therapy is not an alternative medical procedure because it shows a clear pharmacologically and physiologically justifiable effect. The active principle is the networking via segment regulatory complexes and the vegetative nervous system. Common orthopedic and pain therapy techniques are used, and the neural therapeutic phenomena can be explained by conventional medical knowledge.
The advantages of neural therapy for modern internal medicine are that the method bundles and modernizes the knowledge about the transmission of information in the living organism. The diagnosis can be shortened and made more precise by means of test injections. Redefining the interference field and neural therapeutic treatment can significantly reduce the chronic inflammatory burden on the body and thus cut down on drugs, positively influence the course of the disease and generate a matrix reset.