Prolotherapy

A chapter from the revised Alternative Medicine, the Definitive Guide, by The Burton Goldberg Group.

Co-written by Marc Darrow MD,JD.

Prolotherapy

 

Prolotherapy rejuvenates the body by injection of natural substances to stimulate the growth of collagen in order to strengthen weak or damaged joints, tendons, ligaments, or muscles. As a simple, cost-effective alternative to drugs and surgery, Prolotherapy is an effective treatment for many pain syndromes, including degenerative arthritis, low back and neck pain, joint pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, migraine headaches, and torn ligaments and cartilage.

Joint, tendons, ligament, cartilage, and arthritic problems are among the most common afflictions suffered by Americans today. Many remedies are used to treat these problems, such as rest, medication, traction, exercise, cortisone injections, physical therapy, and surgery, but for many patients, these fail to provide lasting relief. In many cases, Prolotherapy (also known as reconstructive therapy, sclerotherapy, or proliferative therapy), a nonsurgical method that stimulates the body’s natural healing abilities to repair injured tissues and joints, can provide an answer. The word prolotherapy is derived from the root prolo, which is short for proliferation. Prolotherapy is so named because it causes new collagen to grow, or proliferate, in areas of the body where it has been weakened or injured.

“Ligaments, tendons, cartilage, and bones have poor healing abilities due to the lack of blood supply to these tissues,” says William Faber, D.O., director of the Milwaukee Pain Clinic, in Wisconsin, and a leading authority in the field of prolotherapy. “This is why injuries to these areas are so long lasting. When these tissues become damaged, the joint becomes unstable and, in order to compensate, the body forms bony, arthritic spurs. This causes increased friction, increased pain and weakness, and a loss in joint mobility. Further injury often results.”

Prolotherapy can facilitate the healing process for specific injuries. In the case of injured joints, a local anesthetic and a natural irritant (sodium morrhuate, a purified derivative of cod liver oil), dextrose, phenol, minerals, or other natural substances are injected into areas where ligaments, tendons, or cartilage are torn or weak. “The injection stimulates the body to produce more connective tissue, which helps to strengthen the weak or damaged areas,” says Dr. Faber. “As a result, the patient will often experience less pain and greater strength and endurance.” Greater mobility and range of motion are other benefits of prolotherapy treatment. The injections are completely safe and trigger the same natural healing response that normally occurs after an injury.

Collagen is a component of ligaments, tendons, cartilage, muscle, and the outer covering of muscle called fascia. All of the soft tissue of the body is composed of collagen.

Ligaments are sheets or bands of connective tissues made out of collagen that provide stability to the joints of the body by connecting two or more bones together. When ligaments become weak or damaged, healing is often slow and the injury may not fully recover, primarily because the blood supply to ligaments is limited. Ligaments also contain many nerve endings that can exacerbate the pain a person feels when ligaments are injured or loosened.

Tendons are fibrous connective tissues made out of collagen, which connect muscles to bones. Like ligaments, when tendons become damaged they can cause pain.