Prolotherapy Regenerative Solution to Chronic Joint Pain
BY: DR. MELINA ROBERTS
When you have chronic joint pain you NOW have 3 choices: suffer with chronic pain; go with the traditional approach of surgery or anti-inflammatory medications; or get injections to help regenerate your joints which would you choose??
When joints are weakened by traumatic or over-use injuries, the blood supply to ligaments is limited, and therefore healing is slow and not always complete after injury. The limited blood supply means that the nutrients needed for proper healing are not able to reach those tissues. In addition, ligaments have many nerve endings and therefore the person will feel pain at the areas where the ligaments are damaged or loose.
Prolotherapy is a way to treat healable connective tissue in a non-surgical way. It is a treatment that stimulates permanent changes.
Prolo is short for proliferation which means regenerate or rebuild, because the treatment causes the proliferation of new ligament or tendon tissue in areas where it becomes weak.
How it works is a substance is injected into the affected ligaments or tendons, which leads to local inflammation. The localized inflammation triggers a wound healing cascade resulting in the deposition of new collagen. The collagen tightens the ligament or tendon and makes it stronger.
The challenge with this procedure is that it can initially be painful as the local inflammation takes place and healing is initiated, but the long-term benefit is lasting. In comparison to a cortisone shot where the initial benefit is pain relief but there are no long-term benefits.
Ideally you should receive the injection every 3-4 weeks for 3-6 treatments for optimal results.
Click here to read more about Prolotherapy.