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WHAT IS REGENERATIVE INJECTION THERAPY (PROLOTHERAPY)?Regenerative injection therapy (formerly called prolotherapy or sclerotherapy) i Prolotherapy - How does It Work?Regenerative injection therapy works by promoting your body’s natural healing process. It is effective therapy for injured ligaments. Ligaments are the tissues that hold the bones together. When ligaments are injured, they heal poorly because they do not have a good blood supply. In order for your body to heal any injury, blood must flow to the affected area, and create an inflammatory response. This in turn leads to the proliferation of the healing cells, which create new protein, and repair of damaged tissues. Unfortunately, because of the poor blood supply, ligaments do not heal well. Injuries, which normally would resolve in 4-6 weeks, become chronic conditions. This leads to further dysfunction, weakening, and chronic pain. Muscles become painful and hypersensitive as they try to “protect” the injured area. Persistent neck pain following trauma (“whiplash” or “cervical sprain”), low back pain (“lumbar strain” or “pelvic dysfunction”), and sacroiliac joint problems are common examples of ligament injuries leading to persistent pain problems. Appropriate treatment requires a competent medical evaluation including a history, physical exam and review of imaging studies such as X-rays, MRI, etc.; however there is no specific test or picture that will reveal the injury—the diagnostic skill of your physician is required. Prolotherapy - What Should I Expect?If ligament injury is suspected, injecting the injured area will begin the inflammatory, or healing process. A solution containing highly concentrated sugar water and local anesthetic will be injected—this stimulates the repair process. The injections can be somewhat painful—a pain reducing and sedating medication can be given at the time of injection. During the first 2-4 days following the injection, often an increase in pain will be experienced. This will be followed by lessening of pain over the next few weeks. During this time the healing process is occurring. You will be reevaluated in 4-6 weeks to determine if further injections are needed to complete the process. Sometimes only 1 or 2 injections are needed; other times up to 6 in a given area may be required. Following the injection it is imperative that no anti-inflammatory medications such as aspirin, Aleve, Motrin, etc. be taken. These drugs will inhibit the necessary inflammatory response that leads to healing. Proper diet with adequate protein intake, and progressive physical activity are important as well. For pain relief, Tylenol is usually adequate; consult your physician if stronger medicine is required. Prolotherapy - Risks of the Injections Restorative injection therapy is quite safe; however any invasive procedure has some risk associated with it. The risks are dependent upon the specific area being injected. Bleeding or bruising, infection, severe headaches, lung collapse (for injections in the chest), and allergic reactions are some of the reported, although extremely rare, complications of this treatment. Please consult with your physician if you have any questions about regenerative injection therapy. |
s an injection technique used to help relieve chronic pain of the neck, back, shoulder or extremities. It was first developed in the 1950’s, and in recent years has gained in popularity and availability due to better physician education and availability of research literature confirming its effectiveness. However, most third-party payors, including Medicare, still consider the treatment to be experimental and deny coverage.