"Prolotherapy" anyone....?
 

...Has anybody out there tried "Prolotherapy" treatment ? - if you did, your input and comments would be greatly appreciated - please specify the location of the treatment (neck, back, etc.) and the outcome of your experience. Thanks and have a good day!

prolotherapy basics
 

I've used prolotherapy for my sacroiliac area and lumbar spine as well as shoulders and knees. It can be effective if all or part of your problem is the result of ligament or general connective tissue damage and laxity. If your problem is due to anything else, it won't really help. It has helped me some, but, as I have other pain generators, I don't expect it to be a "cure all".

The theory behind prolotherapy is simple: reinforce connective tissue by stimulating the production of scar tissue in key areas. The scar tissue is similar in composition to most connective tissue and works as a reinforcement. The stimulation is provided by injection of an irritating chemical the causes a local inflammatory response. Additional stimulation can be achieved by using the injection needle to poke holes in the blood-rich periosteum cover on bones near connective tissue attachment points. This second method would be analagous to microfracture or abrasion arthroplasty minus the stem cells.

A new variant on prolotherapy uses platelet-rich plasma from your own blood to stimulate a healing response rather than the standard proliferant solutions. This "platelet rich plasma" treatment is currently being used at the Stone Clinic in San Francisco to improve the surgical outcomes for meniscal transplant and collagen meniscal implants in knees.

There have been several controlled studies to prove-disprove the effectiveness of prolotherapy. Some say it works, other say it does not. I do know that, just like surgery, technique is important and you want to go to someone with lots of prolo experience if you want the best chance of it helping at all.

Other than cost and the discomfort of getting a zillion injections, the technique is relatively safe. Injections should not be anywhere near nerves or other structures you don't want scarred. If someone proposes to perform prolotherapy in a disc interior, I'd think twice.

Best of Luck!
Laura

Prolotherapy works but, you need to find someone that uses the original technique of the founder Dr. Hackett. There is a doctor in chicago named Dr. Hauser who has trained hundereds of doctors the way Dr.Hackett trained him. The reason the sucess rate is all over the spectrum is because some doctor only give several shots for a lower back treatment and in return have about a 50% sucess rate.Dr. Hauser gives anywhere from 35-50 shots for the lower back treatment and has about an 85% rate, so try to find someone who uses the protocal from Dr. hauser. Here are some web sites that my help,best regards JOHN.
http://caringmedical.com/therapies/p...-injection.asp
http://www.prolonews.com/
http://www.getprolo.com/
http://caringmedical.com/therapies/prolotherapy.asp
http://www.prolonews.com/not_all_pro...ated_equal.htm

I do phototherapy twice a week at physical therapy. I had ADR in 2004 and about 9 months after the surgery I started to develop facet joint pain. Now its so bad that I have to have the Charite disc removed and have my spine fused. Having phototherapy twice a week helps but it isnt a cure all like the person above me said.. It takes the edge off.

Accupuncture works too.

I'm sorry that you are having problems with your ADR. I have a fusion at the L4-5 and I must say you really won't notice it, at least I didn't. I had no pain 13 weeks post op and most likely would of been back to work if it wasn't for a bonehead PT overstreching me and tearing soft tissue. Now two years later I' m finally getting back to normal thanks to prolotherapy.


I get shots every 4-6 weeks, under my doctors protocal. He says when you get shots close to one another the shots prior are less effective. If the shots help your pain then maybe the ADR isn't the problem, just something to think about. Here is a doctor in LA that does Prolotherapy, he looks to be well up on the most natural treatments. I have never been to him, just found him by poking around the net. I like to read and learn about the different treatments out there.Best regards, John.

http://www.gracelifemedical.com/

oh oops.. you put prolotherapy i thought it said phototherapy... haha my bad sorry about that.. nevermind.

No worries, Blair. Do you have prolographic memory?