Prolotherapy is a form of regenerative medicine that is primarily used for ligament, tendon and joint injuries. This non-surgical intervention is a revolutionary way to optimize your tendon and ligament health post injury or degeneration.

Ligaments and tendons are imperative to stabilize our joints and when they are injured pain and joint degeneration can occur. Anti-inflammatories do an okay job of pain management but until that joint is stable the pain will continue to come back. This is where prolotherapy can come in. Prolotherapy in its most common form is a solution of dextrose and procaine and when injected causes a mildly controlled inflammatory reaction at the target location. This inflammation brings growth factors and healing to the site of injury to repair any damage to the area.

The number of treatments depends on the degree of injury and usually range between 3-10 with varying length between treatments. Although there is a numbing agent in the injections anything involving an injection can be a bit painful. The idea behind the injection is to build that inflammatory reaction which can be a bit painful as well but it is recommended not to take any anti-inflammatories because we want that inflammation to occur.

Looking at the research highlights the benefits of prolotherapy. Runners can be debilitated by plantar fasciitis and with a few prolotherapy treatments, you can be back training for your next marathon.

We have talked many times about the benefit of PRP (read all about PRP for arthritis here) for osteoarthritis but prolotherapy can also be a powerful intervention for early signs of osteoarthritis and for mild to moderate degeneration. Often we combine prp and prolotherapy in the same treatment.

Rotator cuff tears and injuries are extremely common and often patients are not interested in a full surgery unless absolutely necessary. Prolotherapy can be a fantastic intervention to eliminate pain and get back to full range of motion for the shoulder without invasive surgical treatment.

Research for prolotherapy is fantastic in any ligament or tendon injury and can get you back to doing what you love pain free. If you are interested in learning more call for your free 15-minute consult or book in for your first prolotherapy treatment.