Prolotherapy and Shoulder

If you are one of the more than four million people in the United States who seek medical care each year for shoulder pain, a brief understanding of the treatment options may help you decide what many already know. Prolotherapy may be your answer. A proper diagnosis of shoulder pain is essential to determine the root cause of the problem and the proper method of treatment because many shoulder conditions are caused by specific activities, such as over use caused by excessive workouts, a detailed medical history is an invaluable tool.

A physical examination should also include screening for physical abnormalities—swelling, deformity, muscle weakness, and tender areas—and observing the range of shoulder motion—how far and in which directions the arm can be moved.

Although x-rays may be helpful in defining problems, more elusive ones may require computerized tomography (CT scan), which provides a more detailed view of the bones. Electrodiagnostic studies such as the electromyogram (EMG) and a nerve conduction study can indicate whether pain or weakness in the area is coming from a pinched nerve in the neck, or a peripheral nerve injury away from the neck, or down the arm. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and ultrasound are other safe and effective diagnostic tools, providing images of the soft tissues without using radiation. An arthrogram is an x-ray, CT or MRI in which dye is injected into the joint for added contrast. However, as outlined in other sections of this book, studies have shown that the advanced technologies commonly used to diagnosis injuries are grievously insufficient to show where the pain is coming from.

This is when a Prolotherapist and his ability to reproduce pain by touching is invaluable. If you can put your finger on the exact spot that is causing the pain, then there is a high probability that you are a candidate for shoulder Prolotherapy since most shoulder problems involve the soft tissues—muscles, ligaments, and tendons—rather than the bones. These soft tissue injuries are precisely the kinds of injury that respond so effectively to Prolotherapy. In a future article we will cover Shoulder Arthritis rehab in great detail since Shoulder Arthritis rehab deserves more focused attention.

Many of the structures inside of joints that are injured do not hurt when you press on the outer surfaces. These inner structures can also, often be healed with Prolotherapy.

Before you do anything as radical or irreversible as surgery, and before you accept the grim prognosis of conventional medicine that sentences you to a lifetime of dependence on pain relief medication, you owe it to yourself to try Prolotherapy.