What is Possible With Neural Therapy?
Dr.Emel Gokmen is one of the specialists who apply “Neural Therapy”, which is not very well-known in Turkey… She highlights the fact that this therapy is based on injecting some organic substance called “Procaine” to the problematic area and it helps with the pains in the neck. Dr. Gokmen says “This therapy resurrects you”. Unbearable migraine headaches and low back and neck hernias make many people miserable. These pains lower their life quality, and workforce loss reaches high levels. The world of medicine and huge pharmaceutical companies work day and night to solve this problem, and new information and different treatment methods are found each day.
Neural therapy, though not well-known in Turkey, is actually in use since 1920s. It is simply about injecting an organic substance called procaine to the problematic area. This procaine affects the autonomic nervous system immediately and stimulates it to work. After all, pain is just the result of a malfunction in the nervous system. This stimulation relieves the pain by strengthening the nerves in the problematic area.
What upsets Emel Gokmen, one of the physicians who can apply neural therapy in Turkey, the most is the fact that this simple and cheap method is not widely known and used. Dr. Emel Gokmen, shares her knowledge of neural therapy below.
What is neural therapy?
This therapy is not widely applied in Turkey. However it is suitable for almost every disease and every part of the body. Because it is based on stimulating the problematic area and making the body regulate itself. When an organ stops working, some part of the body gets hurt or another problem appears in somewhere, the electrical potential of the cells in the corresponding area lowers. And if it falls below the threshold, then the cell dies.
“Procaine” immediately increases this potential and the tissue begins healing itself. Another good thing about the procaine is triggering an intense recovery process by increasing the circulation in the area. Neural therapy accelerates the recovery in situations like accidents or trauma, where the body is unable to heal itself. Because of this, neural therapy is used for sports injuries as well. Pain is a defense system, it warns us. However, if it becomes chronic or takes too long, then it becomes unbearable. For example headaches make both the patient and the ones around them miserable. It lowers life quality and work efficiency. In such cases, neural therapy heals the damage and dulls the pain.
What kind of a substance is procaine?
“Procaine” is actually a local anesthetic. Obtained from urtica urens and bitter almond, it is organic and does not have any side effects. It dissolves completely in the body and just 20 minutes after the injection, you can see that it is entirely gone. Since it is short active and dissolving into organic molecules, it is not applied in large amounts.
The autonomic nervous system makes all cells communicate with each other. When we add the fact that the skin is open to stimulations to this, we see that we can use these two together to treat patients. We apply this injections to the skin related to the corresponding organ. This is not a pharmacological treatment, it just stimulates the autonomic nervous system.
Why do we get sick? Things we had since we were born, causes diseases by accumulating some damages in our body. If we detox from time to time to lessen these accumulations we become more resistant. Let’s say that our tonsils cause problems all the time. Then it is possible to be well during the winter by applying neural therapy to the area because this, increases the resistance.
How do you apply neural therapy?
There are some specific areas to be considered in this method. When the patient comes for a problem in their neck, we do not just think about the neck. We regulate hormones, treat arthritis etc. So we basically enjoy the best of a couple worlds.
This method does not harm the patient in anyway. It is just about injections on the skin and since the needles are so tiny, this does not cause any pain either. Even if the patient comes for just a headache, after a couple sessions they feel much better, healthier and more energetic. Because their life energy changes and they feel happier. When all of these are added together, their whole life changes. Getting rid of chronic pain is already enough for being on cloud nine.
Neural therapy is good for?
Neural therapy is a method that every specialist can use for their own field. It stimulates the whole body and makes it heal itself. That brings a new challenging perspective. It is wrong to see this as an alternative medicine application. It can only be classified as integrative.
When we begin seeing the body as a whole, a new window opens up to us. Some things we were unable to explain using conventional medicine, we can understand with this. I listen to the patient’s history and learn about the diseases and surgeries they had. For example a surgery can cause another problem in a totally different part of the body. These should not be ignored.
Where is neural therapy the most effective?
First of all, it gives great results in pain treatments. It is very effective for low back and neck pains, headache and migraine. Also, all kinds of sports injuries. It cannot solve elderly people’s problems such as arthritis but can provide a higher life quality with dulling the pain.
It can be effective in making every organ work better and solving hormonal problems. Also, in sinusitis and allergies. But it is possible to apply neural therapy for all parts of the body. The number of sessions may vary according the severity of the condition.
Why is it not popular?
That was the first thing that came to my mind, after discovering neural therapy. This is actually a preventive medicine application that everyone should be benefiting from. It is really cheap and provides permanent solutions for many diseases. However, there is also a huge pharmaceutical industry that will not allow such thing. We, as neural therapy physicians, are trying to spread the news but we also work so hard that we cannot find enough time for it. On the other hand, the patients we have treated tell this to others and people get the chance to meet neural therapy. In fact, I think that especially in Turkey, this method should be more popular since we are not rich and this does not cost much like other methods. Also, we get a long and orthodox education in med schools. Physicians gain a specific perspective there and it becomes hard to change it. So, many of them are not even open to new things.
What problems does work stress cause?
Be careful about spasms. Stress causes muscle spasms. Especially for those who have administrative positions, this is the main reason for all problems. People who get to make serious decisions about work are responsible and the best in their field. These are the things what bring them to where they are now. They have a work discipline. This kind of people are already stressed all the time and hence, get spasms in their spinal muscles.
DANGEROUS IN THE LONG RUN: It is easy for stress to penetrate to spine but we usually cannot notice that. Those muscles contract and we cannot relax them. In the long run, these spasms cause spine damages, hernias and serious low back-neck pains. Then come headaches, amnesia, concentration deficit, low life energy and unwillingness. These all become a vicious cycle. After a while, individuals begin being unable to work and has to push themselves to get things done.
How to overcome this?
In such cases, neural therapy is important not for solving it all but for taking the person out of this cycle. People cannot change their personality so the responsible character and stress would still be there but relieving the spasm and making the tissues healthier can send more blood to brain and bring concentration. If the person feels well, then he or she feels happy and has a high energy. And this breaks the cycle. Best exercise to work spinal muscles is backstroking. Two days a week and 30 minutes each day brings stability and prevents the patient from having the same problems again.
CAPITAL – AKSTYLE, APRIL 2006