Prolotherapy

What is prolotherapy, and what can it do for me?

First, it’s essential to understand what the word prolotherapy itself means. “Prolo” is short for proliferation. The treatment causes the proliferation, or growth, of new ligament tissue in areas where it has become weak.

Ligaments are the structural “rubber bands” that hold bones to bones in joints. Ligaments can become weak or injured and may not heal back to their original strength or endurance. This is largely because the blood supply to ligaments is limited, and therefore healing is slow and not always complete. To further complicate this, ligaments also have many nerve endings and therefore the person will feel pain at the areas where the ligaments are damaged or loose.

Tendons are the name given to tissue which connects muscles to bones, and in the same manner tendons may also become injured, and cause pain.

“Proliferative Injection Therapy” involves injecting an otherwise non-pharmacological solution into the body, generally in the region of these tendons and ligaments in order to strengthen weakened connective tissue and alleviating musculoskeletal pain. This causes a localized inflammation in these weak areas which then increases the blood supply and flow of nutrients and stimulates the tissue to repair itself.

Why do we experience joint pain?

Joint and back pain is often caused by injury to or overuse of the tendons and ligaments that support a particular joint. Because ligaments naturally lack good blood supply, healing time tends to be slow compared to other tissues in the body. If the ligaments heal back to their normal length and strength, the joint will regain its stability. Often, however, after enduring injury, ligaments become stretched and are unable to resume the support to the join they once held. This instability can cause inflammation and pain.

How long will it take to complete a course of treatments?

The response to treatment varies from individual to individual, and depends upon one’s healing ability. Some people may only need a few treatments while others may need 10 or more. The average number of treatments is 4-6 for an area treated. The best thing to do is get an evaluation by a trained physician to see if you are an appropriate candidate. Once you begin treatment, Dr. Mãenpaa can tell better how you are responding and give you an accurate estimate.