Our comprehensive Integrative Pain Program brings together the best of conventional medicine with complementary approaches to healing. Our program supplements the care offered by conventional pain specialists by providing additional therapies and options, such as:

• Acupuncture
• Massage therapy
• Mind-body therapies
• Integrative Psychotherapy and Psychiatry
• Nutritional support
• Natural medicines
• Trigger point therapy with homeopathic bee venom and other homeopathic medicines (see below).

Treatment plans often include a combination of these modalities.

Your initial visit will be with a Center physician who will perform an evaluation and review relevant medical records. An integrative treatment plan will be prescribed. If appropriate, further consultations with Jefferson specialists will be arranged.

We care for patients with a wide range of chronic pain problems, including:

• Neck and back pain
• Fibromyalgia and other muscle pain syndromes
• Chronic headaches 
• Arthritis
• Nerve pain syndromes

HOMEOPATHIC BEE VENOM (HBV):

What is homeopathic bee venom?
Injections of highly dilute honeybee venom have been used for decades to treat a wide range of painful muscle and joint conditions. A special pharmaceutical (homeopathic) process takes purified honeybee venom through a series of dilutions: each ampule contains only 1-3 micrograms of venom, or approximately 4% of an average bee sting. (This amount of venom approaches what an allergist might use in testing a patient for allergy to bee stings.)
We use a particular product that is manufactured in Germany by Weleda, Inc. German pharmaceutical law regulates its production and assures its quality and purity. Homeopathic bee venom (HBV) is approved by the FDA in the Unites States as a homeopathic medicine. Although HBV has been safely utilized by physicians for many years, clinical studies have not yet been conducted on its efficacy. 

What is HBV used for?
HBV may be helpful for a wide range of painful conditions. These include: tendonitis, bursitis, and osteoarthritis of any joint. It can be used for pain from degenerative conditions of the spine, especially in the regions of the neck and low back, such as sciatica and other “pinched nerve” syndromes. Persistent pain after trauma or surgery may also be helped. Chronic muscle spasm and inflammation, which may cause tension headaches and fibromyalgia, can often be relieved.

It is important to emphasize that patients with chronic pain syndromes benefit from a comprehensive therapeutic approach; HBV can play a useful role as part of an overall treatment plan.

How does it work?
We don’t really know.
Honeybee venom contains at least 18 active substances. These include mellitin, adolapin, and apamin; all three demonstrate antiinflammatory activity. It also contains compound X, hyaluronidase, phospholipase A2, histamine, and mast cell degranulating protein, which are involved in the inflammatory response. Venom also contains the neurotransmitters dopamine, norepinephrine, and seratonin.
Our bodies use acute inflammation to bring about the healing of an injury or infection. One possibility is that the injected venom helps briefly intensify and resolve the body’s inflammatory response.

Is HBV safe? Are there side effects?
There are two possible side effects:

1. An increase of pain is possible. People will usually have a short increase of pain in the area where the injection is given. This is typically mild, and lasts only a few minutes. This reaction is expected and is thought to be part of the healing process. Rarely, injections can provoke a significant flare of pain that may last for several days to a week.
2. There is a possibility of an allergic reaction to the honey bee venom. Allergy to bee venom occurs mainly in people who have been stung frequently by bees, such as bee keepers. (By contrast, significant allergy to wasp venom can occur after only 1-3 stings). Homeopathic bee venom injections should be avoided in anyone with a history of a severe allergic reaction to a bee sting, including: generalized hives, difficulty swallowing or breathing, swelling of the mouth or throat, or shock (anaphylaxis). The treatment is safe for someone who has only had a limited reaction to a bee sting, such as local swelling and redness. If you have any question about whether you have a significant allergy to bee venom, we will discuss this at the time of your evaluation and refer you to an allergist for testing should this be appropriate. In the event of a venom allergy, other homeopathic injections may be helpful and can be safely used.

What does HBV treatment involve?
The medicine is injected just under the skin, or into the muscle, that overlies the affected area. The number of injections, and the schedule of treatment, depends upon the parts of the body involved, and the duration of the problem. Some conditions respond to a single treatment, others require a series of weekly or biweekly injections over weeks or months. One or more injection may be given during a treatment.
We usually combine the bee venom with other dilute, homeopathic medicines that are intended to speed the healing process.

I’ve read about bee sting therapy for multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis. Is this the same thing?
No.
Many patients with these conditions have explored treatment with whole bee venom, often receiving the equivalent of multiple, full strength bee stings at one time. By contrast, homeopathic bee venom therapy is highly dilute and far less likely to cause an adverse reaction.