Prolotherapy

What is prolotherapy?

Prolotherapy is a form of regenerative treatment that is used to treat a variety of musculoskeletal conditions, such as arthritis, sports injuries, whiplash, tennis elbow, and more. The treatment injections salt or sugar solutions into your body to trigger your body's natural healing response, reducing pain and speeding recovery time. The salt or sugar solutions irritate tissues and start the repair process. Prolotherapy can be helpful in treating both acute (sudden) injuries or chronic conditions. If you are looking for non-surgical alternatives to provide long-lasting pain relief from joint or muscle pain, prolotherapy may be a good option for you.

How is prolotherapy performed?

During prolotherapy treatment, a provider will inject a sugar (dextrose) or salt (saline) solution into the injured or painful part of the body with a thin needle. At Paceway, our providers use ultrasound to guide these injections to ensure its efficacy. The process is very safe, straightforward, and quick. The procedure is typically completed within 15 to 30 minutes, and there is no recovery or down-time after treatment. You can immediately resume your day after receiving treatment. Many patients experience pain relief after one injection, but many patients choose to receive multiple injections scheduled a few weeks apart for elevated results and maximum pain relief.

Am I a candidate?

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How does the procedure work?

Pain in joints, muscles, and soft tissues oftentime occur when these structures are damaged or degenerated. Prolotherapy is a form of regenerative medicine that helps your body naturally fix tissues that have become weak or damaged. During the procedure, when the sugar or salt solution is injected into your body, your body's self-healing mechanism and immune response is triggered. Inflammation caused by the injections spur the growth of new tissues, ease pain, and increase the production of growth factors that heal wounds.

What are the benefits of prolotherapy?

Prolotherapy prompts the body to produce new collagen tissue in injured or damaged tissues. Collagen, an essential protein, strengthens tissues and makes them flexible. Joint health is dependent on the strength and elasticity of the muscles, ligaments and tendons in and surrounding the joint. Unfortunately, tissue can weaken due to injuries or chronic medical conditions. Weak tissues can't adequately support joints, which can lead to new injuries and increased pain. Prolotherapy rebuilds tissues, helps stabilize joints, and improves their ability to function normally without pain. In some cases, prolotherapy can help patients delay surgery or even avoid it altogether.

Prolotherapy offers a drug-free alternative to treat conditions and injuries that affect the muscles, joints, ligaments, tendons and soft tissues. As opposed to surgery, prolotherapy is minimally invasive, and there is no recovery or down time after treatment. After receiving the procedure, you can immediately resume your daily activities. There are minimal side effects, and the procedure is extremely safe.

By triggering the body's self-healing mechanisms, prolotherapy can help your body naturally heal itself and provide long-lasting pain relief. Pain medications may help your symptoms feel better temporarily, but they do nothing to correct the source of your pain. Even worse, some medication may even lead to addiction. In contrast, prolotherapy addresses the root cause of your pain by spurring the growth of new tissues and increasing the production of growth factors. Additionally, pain medications and steroids only provide temporary relief, whereas prolotherapy provides longer term solutions.

Are there side effects?

There are usually very minor side effects after prolotherapy. A little bleeding and soreness at the injection site may cause mild pain for a few days following a treatment session. Swelling and bruising can also accompany soreness. In very rare cases, some people may develop an allergic reaction or infection to the materials used in the prolotherapy solution.

Conditions Prolotherapy Treats