Prolothapy is a simple technique
Prolotherapy is a simple, natural technique that stimulates the body to repair a painful area when the natural healing process needs a little assistance. This non-surgical ligament and tendon reconstruction involves the injection of solutions into the body to induce the proliferation (growth formation) of new ligament tissues, and new cells. Prolotherapy is used in place of commonly prescribed anti-inflammatory medications and more drastic measures like surgery and joint replacement which, in fact, may not help, and often hinder or even prevent the healing process.
Ligaments are the structural rubber bands that hold bones to bones in joints – acting like the body’s shock absorbers. They can become weak and may not heal properly and may not return back to their original strength or endurance. Also, they may not tighten on their own to their original length once injured, largely because the blood supply to ligaments is limited, and healing is slow and not always complete. To make matters worse, ligaments also have many nerve endings and, therefore, the individual will feel pain at the areas where the ligaments are damaged or loose.
Tendons are the name given to tissues which connects muscles to bones, and in the same manner tendons may also become injured and cause pain.
Prolotherapy uses a dextrose (sugar-water) solution that is injected into the ligament or tendon where it attaches t o the bone. This then causes a localized inflammation in these weak areas, which increases the blood supply and flow of nutrients and stimulates the tissue to repair itself, strengthening and tightening and thereby stabilizing the area.
The response to prolotherapy varies from one person to another, and depends upon each individual’s healing ability. Some people may need only a few prolotherapy treatments, while others may need 30 or more. However, once you begin treatment, the doctor can better tell how you are responding to the prolotherapy and give you an accurate estimate.
Prolotherapy has the potential of being 100 per cent effective at eliminating chronic pain due to ligament and tendon weakness. However, like anything else, this depends upon the technique of the individual Prolotherapist. The most important part of the prolotherapy is injecting enough of the solution into the injured and weakened areas and if this is done properly, the likelihood of success is excellent. So, be sure you scout around and secure the best possible prolotherapist available to you.
History of Prolotherapy
The concept of prolotherapy originated in the 1800s to repair hernias, varicose veins, and hemorrhoids, all conditions which are due to connective tissue weakness. If the connective tissue in the veins becomes weakened, then hemorrhoids and varicose veins form. Weakness in the collagen, of course, causes ligament laxity and tendon degeneration with resultant chronic pain.
In the early 1900s prolotherapy was implemented for jaw pain due to the condition known as (TMJ) temporomandibular. And, in January, 1938, Arthur Steindler and J.V. Luck published a fundamental work related to the diagnosis of lower back pain based on procaine injections. They provided strong evidence that all structures in the lower back, including the ligaments, fascia, tendons, and muscles, receive sensory nerve impulses. They pointed out that these structures are all interrelated anatomically and functionally, and they came up with a list of criteria that had to be met to prove that an injured structure was causing a pain symptom.
This work was fundamental in the history of prolotherapy. Now a method to definitely prove what was causing the pain existed. If a person came to the physician with low back pain, radiating to the legs, the doctor with a needle then tried to exactly reproduce the pain and the radiating pain down the leg. When the exact site was found, an injection of procaine was given. If the correct structures were injected, all of the pain would be complexly removed. The latter part of this concept is followed to this day. Prolotherapy can complexly remove chronic pain immediately, if the correct structures have been injected, because of the anesthetic part of the solution.
George S. Hackett, M.D. is considered one of the pioneers, or founders, of modern day prolotherapy, because he brought this technique to mainstream medicine. His research in prolotherapy was published in some of the main medical journals of his time and presented at the prestigious American Medical Association meetings.
Another pioneer in prolotherapy is Dr. Gustav Hemwall. In 1955, while attending an American Medical Asso. Meeting, at which Dr. Hackett lectured on prolotherapy treatment and how he could diminish low back pain, he became so impressed, because the treatments he was able to offer his patients were not very successful, that he personally asked Dr. Hackett how he could learn prolotherapy treatment. Once he learned the prolotherapy treatment, Dr. Hemwall became so proficient at administering the technique that Dr. Hackett would later refer patients to him for prolotherapy.
Prolotherapy owes a great debt to Dr. Hemwall. Between 1955, until his retirement in 1996, he was the main instructor and proponent of Prolotherapy in the United States. He was, perhaps, the world’s greatest prolotherapist. He treated more than l0,000, patients world wide and collected data on 8,000 of these prolotherapy patients.
Prolotheraphy is excellent for many different types of musculoskeletal pain, including: Arthritis, back pain, neck pain, fibromyalgia, sports injuries, unresolved whiplash, carpal tunnel syndrome, torn tendons, ligaments and cartilage, degenerative or herniated discs, TMJ, deep aching, heel spurs, knee injuries, migraine headaches multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, osteoporosis, polio and rotator cuff tears. Many athletes are now seeking prolotherapy to aid them in relief of their injuries.
Great Results Prolotherapy is gaining long, over- due recognition. More than 99 per cent of the patients who completed treatment with prolotherapy found relief from their debilitating chronic pain. These results are similar to those published by Dr. Hackett, showing that prolotherapy in not only safe but is completely curative in many cases (75-90 per cent) and provides some pain relief in nearly all patients treated. Although prolotherapy has been around for a long time, it is just now gaining popularity.
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