Biopuncture is a therapy consisting of injecting biological products such as herbs and homeopathic products into specific areas. It is done by doctors specialising in sports injuries, certain homeopaths and chiropractors. Most of these injections are given under the skin or in the muscles. Examples of products commonly used are: Arnica, Calendula, Echinacea, Nux vomica and Chamomilla.
• Arnica is used for haematomas and muscle pain.
• Nux vomica is injected for digestive problems.
• Ignatia is used for stress-related symptoms.
• Echinacea is used to increase the natural defence system of the body.
One can also inject cocktails of natural products. Several biotherapeutic products are diluted and mixed together in one ampoule, which has its own specific therapeutic characteristics. Traumeel, for example, is used for inflammations and sports injuries, and Zeel is used for tennis elbow, whiplash and arthrosis.
HOW DOES IT WORK?
These natural products are injected with the primary aim of stimulating your own defence systems. You may receive injections in your neck for whiplash, on your chest for bronchitis, on your abdomen for gastro-enteritis, in your knee for joint pain, etc.
Local injections can also be given to stimulate blood circulation, and to support the ongoing inflammatory processes. Some of the products are designed to relax muscles. They are used, for example, when dealing with neck pain and lower back pain. Even pain in the knee or in the hip region can have a muscular origin and can sometimes be treated without injecting the joint itself.
DETOXIFICATION
Another important issue is the detoxification of the body. All the toxins that have accumulated in your body, for example from the environment, from bad nutrition, or from medication (e.g. antibiotic and steroid pollution) can block your immune defence system and disturb the reflex responses of your nervous system.
All these toxins in your body are the reason why your body may not be functioning optimally. Eliminating all the toxins is an important strategy, especially when dealing with chronic diseases. Some products are designed for this purpose: they eliminate or neutralise the homotoxins in your body. Some work specifically on the liver and others on the kidneys or on the lymphatic system.
WHICH CONDITIONS RESPOND BEST?
Biopuncture is mostly used for minor orthopaedic and musculo-skeletal problems, whether they are acute or chronic. Neck pain, back pain, sciatica, sprained joints, frozen shoulder and Achilles tendonitis all respond well to this treatment. Biopuncture is also very successful in treating sports injuries, tennis elbow, and repetitive strain injuries. Biopuncture is also used for conditions such as asthma, eczema, hay fever, arthritis, bronchitis, cystitis and sinusitis.
The use of biopuncture should be considered by those patients who have tried conventional medicine but have had no success, or those who have had to stop taking conventional medication because of side-effects. It is an interesting healing technique for those who want to avoid an operation (for example, for sciatica or sinusitis). In some patients it may be advantageous to combine the conventional approach together with biopuncture.
QUICK AND EASY
Most people are surprised how easily and quickly these injections are given. They cannot be compared with normal injections given in conventional medicine. They are not as painful because the needle is fine and the quantity injected is small. Most of them are given into or just under the skin; others are given into specific muscle points or into and around joints. In most cases, several little injections are given in a specific zone (or in several areas) of the body at each session.
Products used in biopuncture are not as strong as conventional medication (e.g. painkillers, cortisone), and they may not be as rapidly effective in the short term. You may need three or more sessions before any improvement is noted. If you have had problems for several months or years, it means looking for deeper causes and working on these. As a result, you may need 10 or more sessions to feel better.
When you realise that these products are natural products that do not have any major side-effects, you may be motivated to be more patient than usual. In the long run, the results of this form of natural medicine are longer lasting because your physician tries to work on a deeper level by encouraging the body’s own defence mechanism to make the necessary repairs.
WHAT TO EXPECT
Biopuncture is not a miracle therapy and your health practitioner must decide what can be treated, and what can’t. The majority of patients choose to be treated with biopuncture because they are in pain and do not support the use of conventional painkillers. It is important to realise that biopuncture cannot take away the pain as with conventional medication. Pain is seen as an important signal from your body that something is going wrong. If pain can be alleviated without prescribing painkillers, there is good reason to conclude that the deeper cause of that particular pain has been eliminated. However, it may take a few treatments before you actually feel better. If your pain is recent, it may be treated in two or three sessions. If the pain has been there for months or years, it may take 10 or 20 sessions.
You may notice that after the first treatments you feel a little worse. This can be due to the traumatic effect of the needle injecting your soft tissues, but in most cases this happens because the healing processes are being activated. One may experience even more pain than before treatment during the first two or three sessions, until a gradual recovery of the body’s defence systems and healing systems brings the functions of that area back to normal. When you understand that this means that real healing is on its way, you will be more accepting of these minor reactions in the beginning of the treatment.
WHEN NOT TO HAVE IT
Biopuncture cannot heal you from cancer, a heart attack or AIDS, nor is it appropriate to treat high blood pressure, diabetes, depression or epilepsy. In some cases, the disease is too serious or too aggressive, and can only be stopped through conventional medication or surgery. When serious damage has already occurred, biopuncture will simply be too late to reverse the damage. For example, a viral hepatitis can be treated with biopuncture in order to support the healing mechanism of the body, but liver cirrhosis is a phase where cells are damaged beyond repair and healing is impossible. That is why it is so important to first have a diagnosis before starting with biopuncture.
Biopuncture is a safe and efficient technique in complementary medicine and definitely worth considering!
(Source: www.intergrativemedicine.co.za)