Headaches
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The symptoms of headaches are so prevalent that many physicians dismiss headache patients and label them as emotional or stressed out, which leaves them in even more despair. A good example of this is Marion, who started getting migraine headaches shortly after marrying me!
On her one and only visit to the HMO physician, she received a quickly scribbled out prescription for Propranolol, though he wanted to give her an antidepressant. He never even touched her! No examination of the head or neck; just right to the prescription pad for some medications. If he would have bothered to check, her blood pressure was already very low, so Propranolol, an anti-hypertensive medication, could have caused terrible side effects. She came home and tore up the Propranolol prescription. Obviously once we learned Prolotherapy Marion has chosen that route. Categorizing headache sufferers as being stressed out and that stress is the reason for the headaches is totally unjustified and degrading to the patient. Almost every headache sufferer will give the history (Marion included) that neck pain accompanies the headache or the headache starts with neck pain. When patients are examined, especially if they are in the middle of a headache, they will have tenderness in the back of the head and neck. Often times the tenderness is severe.
This shows the patient and the physician that there is something wrong in the back of the head and the neck that is causing the muscle-contraction, migraine, or cluster headaches. Researchers have shown that vascular (migraine-type) and muscle-contraction headache sufferers do in fact have musculoskeletal abnormalities in their necks, compared to people without headaches. This would explain why people like Marion receive such dramatic relief from their headaches after Prolotherapy.
Autonomic Nervous System
Most functions in the human body occur automatically. They are not under our voluntary control. The autonomic nervous system controls all the bodily processes that occur automatically in the body, including breathing, heart rate, saliva formation, digestion, pain control, and of course, blood flow. The somatic nervous system controls those actions that are under our control, including muscle control, moving our eyes to see something, and decision-making. In regards to headaches and neck pain the sympathetic nervous system has three ganglia, or nerve centers, in the neck region. These are known as the superior, middle, and cervicothoracic (stellate) ganglia. The cervical sympathetic ganglia affect the various glands of the face including the salivary glands which control secretions in the mouth, lacrimal glands (secretions in the eyes), and the nasal, sinus and palatine glands (secretions in the nose and sinuses). One can easily see that if too many secretions were produced by these glands that excessive tearing could result (as in cluster headaches), dizziness/vertigo (by excessive secretions in the inner ear), and sinus headaches (by too many secretions in the sinuses irrespective of allergies). It is also significant that the cervical sympathetic ganglia are one of the controls of the diameter of the blood vessels in the brain. This would account for the aura of migraines (vasoconstriction of blood vessels) and the actual headache itself (vasodilation).
Doctors who utilize Prolotherapy and Neural Therapy routinely help patients not only get rid of their pain, but also relieve them of other symptoms, such as muscle weakness, dizziness, ringing in the ears, pins/needles sensation, and fatigue, that are related to a soft tissue injury they suffered during competition.
Neural Therapy is a gentle, healing technique that involves the injection of local anesthetics into autonomic ganglia, peripheral nerves, scars, glands, trigger points, specific points in the skin, and other tissues.
It is based on the theory that any trauma, infection, or surgery can produce long-standing disturbances in the electrochemical or electromagnetic function of tissues.
A correctly applied Neural Therapy injection can often instantly and permanently resolve chronic long-standing illness and chronic pain.
Conditions likely to be caused by an interference field:
The autonomic nervous system is that part of the nervous system that regulates the body’s automatic functions. It helps control for example: heart rate, blood pressure, digestion, bowel movements, urination, sexual function, menstruation, perspiration, and skin temperature. Any symptom related to these functions, such as palpitations, indigestion, constipation, or cold hands may have an interference field as all or part of the cause.
Chronic pain, especially migraine, often has an autonomic component, e.g. nausea and sweating. One should think of an interference field if sciatica or any other leg pain or distant referral pain is accompanied by coldness or change in skin color.
The chronicity of the complaint in response to a surgery or infection is also an indicator of an interference field. If a chronic pain or condition started within several months of dental work or other procedure and there was not any inciting event then think interference field. It is quite common for me to hear the complaint, "I did not do anything to my back, it just started hurting." Hear those words, think of an interference field.
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How is Neural Therapy done?
The first step is to use segment therapy, which involves injections directed into the painful area. The segment therapy is then continued as injections are made into the skin overlying and around the painful area (called quaddles) as well as any scars in the area. Next injections are given into painful, tight muscle regions, or into ligaments, as well as the periosteal origins and insertions of tendons, ligaments and muscles. Next, Neural Therapy may proceed to include injections into nerves, nervous centers, or intravenous and intra arterial injections. Should the segmental therapy be unsuccessful, then a search for the various interference fields is started. Interference fields can be everywhere, though typical ones are tonsils, sinus cavities, tooth and jaw areas, gynecological areas, and all scars. By eliminating the interference fields with injection of a local anesthetic like Procaine, we interrupt the damaging effect to the regulation ability of the organism. Therefore, the healing process will be possible.
Scars, surgery sites, and sites of previous infections can affect cell ion pumps from working correctly and the electrical charge and signaling of those cells becomes altered. These cells can influence other cells and eventually an interference is set up. The local disturbance of the autonomic nervous system can affect the autonomic nervous system as a whole, leading to sometimes severe dysfunction at sites remote from the scar tissue responsible for the disturbance. By infiltrating a local anesthetic around the cell wall, the ion pumps resume normal activity and eventually the autonomic nervous starts functioning properly again.
My Story as a Prolotherapist, Ross Hauser, M.D.
I became fascinated with pain during my Physical Medicine residency. I began accumulating articles on bizarre pain syndromes and obtained quite a collection. What struck me most was the magnitude of the pain problem. It seemed as though everyone either had pain themselves or knew someone who was suffering from chronic pain. I also saw the lack of significant pain relief by modern treatments such as surgery, physical therapy, and anti-inflammatory drugs.
It appeared that the longer people had pain, the less likely such treatments were going to help cure their chronic pain. Pain clinics and pain programs do help some people, but have a poor cure rate. Pain programs teach people to live with their pain. The psychological aspect of the pain is addressed, but in many cases the cause is not determined.
When I began seeing pain patients during my residency training program in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, I thought they were a very difficult group of people to treat. They often appeared depressed, and traditional approaches to pain management did not seem to help. Then I said to myself, How would I feel if I had pain day after day and no one could find a cure?” The families of many who suffer from pain often begin doubting the reality of their loved ones’ pain. Many chronic pain patients who frequent pain clinics experience broken homes and lose their jobs because of the pain. It became evident to me that these patients’ pain was indeed real and that pain pills and support groups did not cure the pain.
In April 1992, I contacted Prolotherapy pioneer Dr. Gustav Hemwall and he allowed me to observe him in his clinic. I was astonished to see him perform 30, 50, or 100 injections on a patient at one time! He called his treatment Prolotherapy. The only other time I had come across the term was when a fellow resident showed me a book on the treatment. I later discovered that Dr. Hemwall was one of the authors of that book!
During the next few months, I spent a considerable amount of time in Dr. Hemwall’s office. People traveled from all over the world to be treated by this 84-year-old man. I have nothing against age, but to think that someone would travel from places like England, Mexico, Florida, and California to receive pain management was incredible. I learned that if someone suffers from pain and someone else has a technique that will help alleviate the pain, time and expense are minor considerations.
It was clear that Dr. Hemwall was helping those whom traditional medicine had not helped. His average patient had been in pain for years and had tried it all: surgery, pain pills, anti-inflammatory medication, exercise, therapy, acupuncture, and hypnotism. Most patients had seen more than five physicians before consulting Dr. Hemwall. Almost all the patients I observed improved after one or two Prolotherapy treatments. People found relief from pain that had plagued them for years. Many said they wished they had known about Prolotherapy years ago.
Three months later, I began utilizing Prolotherapy in my medical practice as a treatment for chronic pain. I have effectively used Prolotherapy in nearly every joint of the body. In January 1993, I began working alongside Dr. Hemwall in his Prolotherapy practice. Since then, my wife and I have opened Caring Medical and Rehabilitation Services, a Natural Medicine clinic that cares for people with chronic diseases using natural methods, including Prolotherapy.
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