Can Prolotherapy Really Fix a Back Problem Where Surgery Can Not?
March 7, 2011 by Dr. Marc Darrow, M.D.
Filed under Back Pain, Prolotherapy Treatment Information
Can Prolotherapy really fix a back problem where surgery can not? A study published in 1987-by which time the procedures of Prolotherapy were fairly well established-offered dramatic support to proponents of the still basically unknown technique. In the first double-blind study on the effects of Prolotherapy on back pain, two groups of carefully screened patients-with at least a one year history of back problems that hadn’t responded to other non- surgical treatments-were injected with either a true Prolotherapy proliferant(a dextrose-glycerine-phenol solution), or with a saline-based placebo.
The test subjects had been thoroughly pre-screened, with full clinical evaluations, x-rays and lab tests, and the 82 patients accepted had arrived with painful conditions. Sixty-percent were currently using non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS). A half-dozen were experiencing such intense pain that they were taking narcotic pain-killers. A whopping 91% had difficulty sitting still for any length of time, and 65% had difficulty sleeping (see video on Sleep and Detox) due to their pain. Seventeen-percent had difficulty walking, 21% experienced decreased sexual activity, and 4% were completely bed-ridden.
Six months after the treatment, 35 of the 40 people who had received the actual Prolotherapy treatment had experienced at least a 50% reduction in pain-a success rate of 88%. And 15 of them were completely pain free-compared to only 4 in the control group.
1. Ongley M, Klein R, Dorman T, Eek B, Hubert L. A New Approach to the Treatment of Chronic Low Back Pain. Lancet 1987;2:143-146.
