What is Neural Therapy?

Neural therapy is a regulation treatment carried out using local anesthetics.

The human body is an electrical body. Our whole body is a network up to 500,000 km in length. Excitable tissues respond to any stimulus by changing the electrical properties of their cell membranes, generating and transmitting an action potential. Nerve and muscle tissue are excitable tissues.

A healthy cell's resting potential is between -40 and -90 mV. A diseased cell's resting potential is lower, so its conduction is impaired. Local anesthetics hyperpolarize the cell's action potential with a force of roughly -290 mV and bring it back to -40 to -90 mV — a potential at which it can conduct again — restoring normal cell function. In this way, a diseased cell is returned to a healthy state.

Neural therapy stimulates and regulates the autonomic (vegetative) nervous system, which forms an extensive electrical network throughout the body. Local anesthetic injections at specific sites regulate three circulations in the body: blood circulation, lymphatic circulation, and nerve conduction. As blood circulation improves, tissue is nourished; as lymphatic circulation improves, tissue is cleared of metabolites; as nerve conduction is regulated, tissue functions more coherently. A nourished, cleansed tissue that receives orderly signals has a greater capacity for self-healing.

The core logic of neural therapy is regulation. A structural deficiency or genetic disorder does not constitute an indication for neural therapy. Developed in Germany in the 1940s and widely practiced by physicians across Europe, neural therapy is both a definitive treatment method and a preventive-medicine approach — because from cancer to simple pain, from viral illness to allergy, the common underlying issue across many conditions is impaired perfusion, lymphatic drainage, and innervation in the affected tissue or body region.

How Does Neural Therapy Work?

Neural therapy works through two core mechanisms:

Segmental mechanism: Works through an anesthetic injection into the segment where the complaint extends, and that segment's connection to the spinal cord. The human body is divided into 30 "Head zones" (segments) in total — 8 cervical, 12 thoracic, 5 lumbar, and 5 sacral — and everything within one segment is interrelated.
Interference field therapy: A local irritation anywhere in the body — past or current (a surgical scar, inflammation, trauma, etc.) — can over time develop into a pathological site (an "interference field") that disrupts the autonomic nervous system. Removing this field can produce a sudden drop in symptoms. Interference fields are frequently located in the head region, particularly the teeth, tonsils, and paranasal sinuses.

A local anesthetic applied to disrupted segmental tissue does not only interrupt pathological reflex pathways — it also helps repolarize the disturbed cell membrane to the correct potential, helping restore normal autonomic function. Source: Dr. Hüseyin Nazlıkul, Neural Therapy (book).

How Is Neural Therapy Applied? Treatment Steps

Depending on the patient's condition, treatment proceeds through five graduated steps:

1. Comprehensive history and examination: In addition to a general history, events that coincide in time with the onset of the complaint (past surgeries, trauma, illnesses, periods of intense emotional stress) are examined in detail.
2. Local / superficial treatment: Superficial injections are given at the site of pain or at related acupuncture points.
3. Segmental and deep injections: When local treatment is insufficient, injections are applied to the segment associated with the complaint (for example, a sacroiliac joint injection).
4. Ganglion therapy: When segmental treatment does not produce a response, ganglia or trigger points with a higher-level effect are addressed.
5. Interference field therapy: When no response is obtained through the previous steps, possible interference fields in the body are investigated and treated.

The patient is reassessed roughly 24 hours after each session and any change in symptoms is recorded; as long as the treatment shows a response, sessions continue until the condition resolves. For more detail on the treatment process, see Neural Therapy Treatment Protocol.

Who Can Receive Neural Therapy?

It can be applied to patients of any age, including children and the elderly.
Chronic conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes, or heart disease, and medications the patient regularly takes, are generally not a barrier to treatment.
Only in patients on cortisone, whose immune response is broadly suppressed, may the treatment's effectiveness be reduced.
In patients on blood thinners (e.g., warfarin), some applications require extra care; skin-level applications are generally not a concern.

We recommend discussing your individual suitability with your physician.

A Brief History of Neural Therapy

The local-anesthesia research underlying neural therapy dates back to the 1840s; it was developed into its modern form in Germany in the first half of the 20th century by brothers Ferdinand and Walter Huneke, and became a widely practiced treatment across Europe. It was introduced to Türkiye under the leadership of Dr. Hüseyin Nazlıkul; the Scientific Neural Therapy and Regulation Medicine Association (BNR), founded in 2004, maintains training and practice standards under the umbrella of IFMANT (International Federation of Medical Associations of Neural Therapy). For more, see our pages on its history worldwide and its history in Türkiye.

Frequently Asked Questions About Neural Therapy

Is neural therapy the same as acupuncture?

No, they are not the same method — although they share some common ground and mechanistic similarities, describing neural therapy as "a crude form of acupuncture" is a mistaken characterization. For a detailed comparison, see our Questions and Answers page.

Does neural therapy have side effects?

Side effects are rare when the correct dose is used by an experienced physician. There are specific precautions for patients on blood thinners or cortisone; it's important to share your medications and health history with your physician before treatment.

How can I get trained in neural therapy?

Neural therapy training is delivered as graduated seminar programs, to BNR and IFMANT standards. See Participation and Certification Requirements for details.