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Collagen and Degenerative Knee Pain
IS SURGERY
THE ULTIMATE ANSWER TO KNEE PAIN?
When the doctor says: "I am recommending surgery, ultimately you will probably need a knee replacement due to the damage in there." There are two choices to make when the doctor says these words to you. One, accept your destiny and continue to live with an unstable and painful knee until the surgeon calls, or find a solution to your pain now.
To someone wearing a knee brace, who regularly tapes ice on their knee and takes prescribed and over-the-counter pain medication, what else could there be but surgery? How about
Prolotherapy?
Prolotherapy works on all knee problems with excellent results. Only in the case of a completely torn
ligament is Prolotherapy somewhat limited. If there is a partial tear (sometimes on MRI these may look like complete tears), Prolotherapy can reconstruct the ligament and strengthen the joint.
But even with a complete tear, Prolotherapy is extremely beneficial because an impact with enough force to completely rupture a ligament will also loosen the entire knee structure. Prolotherapy in this situation can strengthen the surrounding tissues giving the patient/athlete a better chance of long-term success.
It is rare that a patient who is not active in sports or a competitive athlete needs
ACL surgery. Many athletes function on an ACL deficient knee.
There are certainly instances in life when surgery is called for, but not nearly as often as it is currently performed. Even so-called "minor" surgery takes a drastic toll on the human body, physically traumatizing and permanently altering its structures, often to its detriment.
Is Prolotherapy The Answer
To Chronic Knee Pain?
Prolotherapy is short for "proliferation therapy," Proliferation, of course, means "rapid production." What Prolotherapy rapidly produces is
collagen and
cartilage. Collagen is a naturally occurring protein in the body that is a necessary element for the formation of new connective tissue that holds the skeletal infrastructure together. These include, tendons, ligaments, muscle fascia and joint capsular tissue.
Prolotherapy helps make collagen through a series of
injections, not of collagen, but of mild chemical or natural (such as dextrose-sugar) irritants, that stimulates the immune system's healing mechanism to produce collagen naturally. Making collagen makes for strengthened and restored joints. Restored and strengthened joints makes for permanent pain relief.
In non-injured ligaments or tendons, collagen fibers are flexible and have some elasticity. But, they are not supposed to stretch very far. Injuries can stretch these fibers beyond their designed lengths. Or, wear and tear through repetitive motion can fray or tear them. When these tissues are stretched beyond their normal limits, wear out, or tear, pain is perceived.
Inflammation produces pain, which is a sign the body's healing process is occurring. So initially, inflammation occurs as the body tries to heal the damage. Since the tendons and ligaments have a poor and limited blood supply, it is important not to shut down the initial inflammatory response. Shutting down the inflammation is equivalent to shutting down the healing cycle and YOU prevent yourself from healing correctly. In all cases that require Prolotherapy, the ligaments and tendons, whether through the use of anti-inflammatories, or because of a weakened immune system, or because of the severity of the injury, did not heal sufficiently. Injured, loose, or stretched out ligaments are often referred to as the condition of ligament relaxation, or
ligament laxity. This is what produces the pain and discomfort, especially with movement because the connection of the ligament or tendon to the bone may be inflamed and the joint may move beyond its normal range of motion.
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