Prolotherapy is the injection of a growth-stimulating substance into the body’s tissues to create new natural tissues. We inject into tendons, ligaments, some muscles, and joints. The most common substance used in Prolotherapy is dextrose, the same sugar that is in the blood. We use dextrose mixed with a local anesthetic and sterile water. This safe substance is introduced with a local anesthetic into the areas of injury.

It takes time for any Prolotherapy injection to work in the body. First, the solution injected will send a signal for cells to come to the site of injections. Then these cells mature and divide to become the tissue-creating cells needed to grow new fibers. This process takes about 6 weeks for most people to experience a good result. Some areas, such as the shoulder or the elbow, take longer, and some areas, like the wrist, improve more quickly.

This is the process:

• Day 1:  Day of Prolotherapy injection.
• Day 1:  After injection expect soreness and perhaps pain.
• Day 2:  Decreasing soreness or pain.
• Day 3:  Further decease of soreness.
• Days 3-7:  Usually all soreness is gone and mild improvement is felt.
• Weeks 2-3:  Usually the same as the original level of discomfort before the Prolotherapy.
• Weeks 3-4:  More discomfort as part of the healing process, possibly more than the original level of discomfort. Often patients experience little to no increase in pain, but some patients experience much pain.
• Weeks 5-6:  Expect gradual improvement.
• Weeks 7-8:  Expect improvement week by week.
• Months 2-3:  If you fail to keep improving, then another set of Prolotherapy is needed. The patient may benefit by the use of a stronger solution for the second and possibly later sets.

Dr. Abraham uses prolotherapy for these areas:

• The back of the head
• The jaw joint-known as the TMJ
• The cervical spine & joints
• The thoracic (upper back) spine and ribs
• The lumbar (lower back) spine
• Hips, buttocks, sacrum, and tailbone
• Shoulders and collarbone
• Elbows, Wrists, hands, and fingers
• Knees and kneecaps
• Legs, ankles, feet, and toes

Prolotherapy is useful for degenerative arthritis (osteoarthritis) at the elbow, wrist, hand, fingers, hip, knees, ankles, and toes.

We do Prolotherapy for the following common problems:

• Chronic headaches
• Chronic dizziness
• Neck pain
• Shoulder rotator cuff tears or irritations
• AC joint subluxation
• Shoulder joint cartilage (labral) tears
• Chronic or recurrent shoulder dislocations
• Costochondritis
• Atypical chest pain that is not due to heart disease
• Lower back pain
• Hip ligaments and tendons
• Patello-femoral syndrome
• Knee ligaments & tendon sprains/strains
• Ankle sprains
• Turf toe  

For more information about prolotherapy, go to the following web sites:
www.getprolo.com
www.drreevesonline.com
www.prolotherapy.com

For a newscast on prolotherapy, go to:
http://www.drmagaziner.com/prolovideo256k.ram

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