Prolotherapy… Is it something to consider?
Prolotherapy is an injection therapy for the treatment of pain and tendon/ligament/capsule injury. Prolotherapy involves strengthening the ligaments and tendons of the body by injection of a proliferative agent, thus the name prolotherapy. Proliferents allow for the growth of new ligament tissue in weakened areas. Weakened ligaments/tendons allow for unstable joints with increased mobility; nerve fibres that run through these lax tissues become stretched causing mechanoreceptors to send pain signals (Biedert 1993).
Ligaments, joint capsules and tendons and can be stretched with injury and repetitive strain which requires our muscles to work overtime to compensate for those loose ligaments which result in pain! Unfortunately, structures like ligaments only recover 70% of their prior strength or length. This causes instability in a joint because the structures needed to avoid excessive movement have now been compromised.
Prolotherapy can help with this kind of condition. It involves injections of dextrose and lidocaine into the stretched tissues to help restart the body’s natural healing process by causing controlled acute inflammation in the areas injected. Prolotherapy injections are often combined with other treatments such as spinal manipulation, exercises, and corticosteroid injections into tender muscles to maximize their effect.
Prolotherapy addresses the cause of the pain and stabilizes the joint. After an average of 3 to 6 treatments the ligament may start to support the way it was meant to. Tenderness may be felt for 2 days to 2 weeks following prolotherapy as inflammation may be triggered to induce a wound-healing cascade.
Prolotherapy may be an effective treatment for the following conditions:
- Upper and lower back pain
- Arthritis
- Any joint instability
- Frozen shoulder
- Damaged knee ligaments
- Sciatica
- Pain of the foot, plantar fasciitis
- Tennis elbow
- Sprained wrist
- Chronic ankle sprain
- Lumbar disc herniation
- Rotator cuff injuries
- Neck pain
- Tendonitis
Prolotherapy offers a safe and effective approach to treating pain that doesn’t just mask symptoms but actually stimulates the body to repair. Talk to your physiotherapist to see if this is appropriate for your injury.
Related Conditions:
Upper and Lower Back
Hips, Legs, Knees
Elbows, Wrists, Hands
Shoulder and Rotator Cuff
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