PROLOTHERAPY
What is Prolotherapy?
Prolotherapy stands for “proliferative therapy”, meaning it is a therapy that triggers a proliferative healing cascade leading to tissue repair and regeneration. Prolotherapy is one of the regenerative medicine techniques used at Ascend. It is a non-surgical regenerative injection technique that introduces small amounts of solution to the site of painful, injured, and degenerated tissues. It usually takes place over several treatment sessions to promote the growth of normal cells and tissues.
The treatment stimulates the body’s own natural healing processes in cases of chronic musculoskeletal pain and instability. It boosts the regenerative processes in the joint that will facilitate the repair and regrowth of connective tissue, ligaments, and tendons. This results in increased strength, repaired cartilage, and the stabilization of other joint structures to bring about the healing of the entire joint.
The healed ligaments and tendons produced after Prolotherapy appear much the same as normal tissues, except that they are thicker, stronger, and contain fibers of varying thickness, testifying to the new and ongoing creation of tissue.
Prolotherapy is not a new treatment. It has been used in clinical practice for more than 80 years to treat various chronic musculoskeletal conditions.
Prolotherapy treatments are a natural non-surgical method of assisting the body to heal injured or weakened joints, ligaments and tendons, and damaged cartilage. With Prolotherapy (also called Dextrose Prolotherapy, PRP Prolotherapy, Ozone Prolotherapy, or Prolozone), the weakened areas are injected with a solution that stimulates the growth of healthy, strong tissues. The solution injected varies, as the different names indicate, with different solutions having different impacts. In dextrose prolotherapy, dextrose is the primary solution injected, with PRP prolotherapy, PRP is the primary solution injected, and so on. The goal across all types of prolotherapy is advanced tissue repair and regenerative healing. As the injured tissues grow stronger and repair, the pain is alleviated and motion is restored.
How does Prolotherapy Work?
To better understand the potential regenerative and healing effects of prolotherapy, it is necessary to review the causes of chronic pain that often hinders injuries from completely and adequately healing.
There are several characteristics that accompany chronic pain and injury. These are some of those causes and characteristics:
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Anatomical poor circulation to ligaments, tendons, and joints.
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Trauma produces localized edema, inflammation, and depolarized membranes causing a further localized decrease in circulation.
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Decreased circulation from trauma means a further decrease in local oxygen utilization secondary to decreased oxygen and nutrient delivery.
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Increased localized acidosis, free radical production, and infection, which hurts and perpetuates the cycle of injury.
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Decreased oxygen to body areas can result in a buildup of lactic acid, increasing pain and discomfort followed by reduced recovery and healing.
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Aging further decreases both circulation and oxygen utilization.
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Chronic pain is in part due to a lack of oxygen utilization.
Prolotherapy can target these causes to restore normal healing and decrease pain by performing the following actions:
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Stimulate increased circulation.
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Improve oxygen utilization.
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Increase free radical control.
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Decrease acidosis.
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Decrease inflammation.
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Eradicate infection.
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Deliver mitochondrial nutrients, bicarb, anti-inflammatories, and oxygen.
Utilizing prolotherapy can target these causes of chronic pain and healing dysfunction to restore normal healing and tissue growth. In targeting these causes of pain, these therapies lead to an immediate decrease in pain, soft and hard tissue regeneration, and increased healing; leading to potential correction of chronic injuries and degenerative processes. Furthermore, an additional benefit to these treatments is little to no pain and zero side effects.
Prolotherapy’s mechanism of action lies in the notion of irritating an injured area to stimulate the body to heal itself. It involves the injection of a proliferate that causes an inflammatory response which stimulates the healing process. Prolotherapy can help the body make new cells and can strengthen lax or torn tendons and ligaments.
Often pain and weakness in an injured area can remain even after a healing period of weeks, months or years. This is because cartilage, ligaments, and tendons have very poor circulation and it is this lack of blood supply which deprives them of the nutrients they need to heal properly. These weakened areas may have little or no blood flow, but they have lots of nerves. That is why injuries and even moderately healed injuries can feel a significant amount of pain.
Prolotherapy has been shown to be effective at eliminating the pain of such conditions as sports injuries, tendonitis, arthritis, sciatica, some headaches, degenerated joints, fibromyalgia, and more. It can be effective at treating many causes of chronic back and neck pain, shoulder, knee and other joint pain, tendonitis, and bursitis.
How Does Prolotherapy Compare to PRP?
The main difference between PRP Prolotherapy treatment and dextrose/ozone prolotherapy treatment is the solution being used. Dextrose/Ozone Prolotherapy involves the injection of a proliferate (a mild irritant solution – dextrose or ozone), which causes an inflammatory response that stimulates the healing process. By contrast, the PRP treatment solution is derived from your own blood.
What Injuries Can Prolotherapy Treat?
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All joint injuries
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Acute and chronic musculoskeletal injuries
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Sports injuries
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Ligament injuries
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Tendon injuries
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Herniated and degenerative discs
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Sciatica and pinched nerves
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TMJ syndrome
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Weak, loose, and unstable joints (hypermobility)
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Finger and hand injuries
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Muscle tightness, strain, and spasm
How many treatments are typically needed?
The average person can require 6 treatment sessions given at 2 to 4-week intervals. But the number of treatments varies with each patient. Difficult (post-surgical, chronic, etc.) or other complicated cases may require 8, 10, or 12 treatments. Many patients can feel the relief of pain after the 3rd or 4th treatment. Occasionally some patients have reported some relief of pain after only two sessions.
Once treated, the problem should be fixed. Healing will continue to take place for at least one year following treatment. Of course, if there is an injury or insult to the area treated, additional treatment may be needed.
How does Prolotherapy compare to Cortisone shots?
Long-term studies have shown that cortisone injections weaken tissue. Cortisone is a catabolic injection, meaning it breaks down tissue, specifically collagen. Prolotherapy is an anabolic injection, meaning it stimulates the building and repair of tissue. Cortisone is typically one injection and has multiple pros and cons depending on the reason for injection. Prolotherapy consists of multiple injections to an area with minimal to no negative side effects.
