Prolotherapy

[usufruct]

I had my first treatment of injections tuesday with dextrose on my right knee for arthritis (from chondromalacia patella) and a partially torn Meniscus. Some of the injections were painful and I had a slight swelling during the day. Yesterday I woke up unaware that I had a treatment the day before and I feel the same today. There doesn't seem to be much inflammation or stiffness. Anybody have this treatment? Is it unusual to not have any noticeable swelling the day after? I'm under the impression that inflammation is part of the healing process and part of the goal of the injections. I have done a yoga session Wednesday and my conditon seems to be the same or slightly better. I'm concerned that the lack of inflammation and stiffness may indicate the treatment will not lead to healing.

[Joshua Naterman]

I have had a few friends who have done prolotherapy and it helped them a LOT. It seems to take 10-15 treatments to get the full effect, but what you are experiencing may just mean that your injury is less severe. It also may mean that you may do better with the platelet enriched prolotherapy instead of just dextrose.

You won't know for sure for 2-4 more treatments, but it sounds a lot like the experiences that my friends have had. You are going to need to scale your activities back enough to allow for healing, which is a somewhat arbitrary (subjective) judgement, based on pain. You need to limit the activity to what does not hurt. As therapy progresses that level of activity will change, but be somewhat conservative for best results. Move, but only move in ways that don't aggravate your injury.

[Scott Malin]

It may simply be a matter of finding the right dosage and frequency--as Josh stated, it will take several treatments to see how you are processing it. The ND I am familiar with strives for 3-8 treatments for getting stability. And if I recall correctly, it's normal for the healing process to be 1-4 weeks after each injection. There's also variability in the solutions different therapists use which affects those factors (like glucosamine sulfate, glucose and procaine). The above-mentioned platelet enriched prolotherapy has done some awesome things too, though I know the ND generally waits for 3 regular injections before doing the PRP. I've seen the dextrose work fine, so don't stress too much over the first treatment. Just be sure in addition to Josh's recommendations to avoid taking anti-inflammatory drugs.

Keep us posted on how you're doing.

[Joshua Naterman]

Oh, nice catch Cory! That timeline seems about right, my friend Tony went in every 2-4 weeks, but I have no idea how the doctor decided what interval to use and when. His wrist was messed up really bad from breakdancing, like to the point where he couldn't even hold a push up position. He said it took something like 8 treatments before he could do that, but here he is 15 treatments and about a year later and he's doing all kinds of stuff! I know he couldn't be happier, I hope it works for the OP as well.

[Curt Ferson]

Decided to become a test pig for Prolotherapy injections. I was given three injections that primarily contained dextrose, B vitamins and Ozone. Chronic medial elbow tendonitis (or tendonosis), and recent lateral elbow tendonitis have become unbearable.  Recent exuberant GST training is the culprit. Trying to do too much to soon. F1 appears to be a smart, gradual approach, so I'll follow that plan on the next round.

 

Over the past 5 years I've met with my regular doctor, an orthopedic specialist, and physical therapists in effort to cure the problem. Not ONE of these experts mentioned Prolotherapy as a solution (?). Cortisone treatments provided some relief, but failed to cure the problem.

 

The doctor who provided the injections claimed he had good success with Prolotherapy. Results may occur in just three treatments. He seemed optimistic. We'll see.

 

I'm guessing that something relatively simple and inexpensive (and effective-hopefully) might be treatening to Orthopedic surgeons and the drug industry. I just discovered this treatment two months ago, but with any luck (knock on wood) I'll soon be one healthy pig.

 

 

[Joshua Naterman]

PRP prolotherapy, which concentrates your own growth factors and uses them, along with dextrose and whatever else, as the prolotherapy injection, has been banned by the IOC, so you know it probably works.

 

I have a friend who had wrist problems that didn't go away with regular treatments, and it took him ~12 prolotherapy visits but he's back to normal, and working out hard with no pain. It certainly works for a pretty reasonable number of people if it's done right.

 

Edit: I just realized I already posted this like a year ago...