Even before medical school, I watched surgical procedures as much as possible. I wanted to become a surgeon since I wanted to heal. In medical school, I did surgical research and assisted in the operating room more than my classmates. There was nothing better than a quick fix. Cut the skin, open up the body, fix the problem, and suture it back up.
By the time I had finished medical school and internship (where I spent as much time as possible doing orthopedic procedures) I had seen too many surgical failures. I even saw a woman die on the table during a hip replacement.
A year after a painful shoulder injury while weight-lifting, I decided to have my orthopedic professor operate on me. It was a “simple” arthoscopic surgery. My arm blew up like a balloon with fluid, and I had a fever. We thought it was an infection. It took a year after my surgery to heal. But it was no better than before the surgery. I later learned about Prolotherapy, injected my own shoulder, and the pain was gone the next day. I never needed the surgery. Later I found out that most patients do not need their elective orthopedic surgeries.
A number of my patients that suffer from wrist pain are golfers. Here is a recent Prolotherapy success story that I thought you might enjoy reading. The patient, James Lee, is a professional golfer.
My name is James Lee and I played on the UCLA Men’s Golf team from 2005-2009. I played golf my whole life and have encountered numerous of injuries. The most critical injury was a tear in the Triangular Fibrocartilage Complex of my left wrist (TFCC) due to the many years of pounding balls.
The wrist pain started when I was a junior golfer but I chose to fight through it and compete with an injured wrist until I could no longer endure the pain. It wasn’t until I got an MRI scan and found out that it was a serious injury which could jeopardize my career. I was informed that the TFCC didn’t have the ability to heal on its own and surgery, which had less than a 75% success rate, was the only other option I had left.
Here is a one of my latest Prolotherapy success stories about Brett Miller, former NFL football star for the San Diego Chargers. Here is what Brett has to say about his Prolotherapy experience:
I first came to see Dr. Darrow on February 25, 2009 with left knee pain that I had for many years. I live a very active lifestyle and I played football at the collegiate level and in the NFL for many years with the Atlanta Falcons, San Diego Chargers and New York Jets. I have had multiple surgeries on my left knee including left knee reconstruction, tendon graft with a mini-Andrews procedure. Since the initial reconstruction in 1986, I have had 6 arthroscopic procedures on my left knee, as well as multiple cortisone injections. My left knee was in constant pain and my activities were limited by the pain.
I was referred to Dr. Darrow by a personal trainer and began Prolotherapy treatment on February 25, 2009. I have had 5 Prolotherapy treatments in my left knee and I began to notice decreased pain after the third injection.
I was just interviewed by Peter Bedard for his wonderful television show and website, Create Your Health.
To help his viewers understand the benefits of Prolotherapy treatments for pain management, he created the educational video below. To watch the video, simply press the play button and make sure your computer has the volume turned on.
To learn more about Prolotherapy treatment and how it provides a safe, effective alternative to invasive surgery for pain relief, please contact my Los Angeles office at (310) 231-7000 or click here to schedule an appointment.
All the best towards living pain free!
Dr. Darrow
About The Author:Doctor Marc Darrow, M.D. is a board-certified physiatrist and assistant professor at UCLA School of Medicine. As the author of Prolotherapy: Living Pain Free, Dr. Darrow is one of the authorities on Prolotherapy use for pain management and has been featured in Newsweek, ESPN, Men’s Health, Golf Today and Muscle and Fitness.
What are the benefits of Prolotherapy compared to anti-inflammatory drugs?
Does Prolotherapy work for everyone with pain?
To learn more about Prolotherapy treatment and how it provides a safe, effective alternative to invasive surgery for pain relief, please contact me in my Los Angeles office at (310) 231-7000 or click here to schedule an appointment.
All the best towards living pain free!
Dr. Darrow
About The Author:Doctor Marc Darrow, M.D. is a board-certified physiatrist and assistant professor at UCLA School of Medicine. As the author of Prolotherapy: Living Pain Free, Dr. Darrow is one of the authorities on Prolotherapy use for pain management.
I was recently interviewed by Dr. Mohammed Khalid for The Journal of Longevity. I thought you might like to learn more about Prolotherapy through this article.
Marc Darrow, a Los Angeles physician, is one of many doctors in the U.S. who offer an amazing new treatment called Prolotherapy. Its name is derived from the word “proliferation,” and its goal is to stimulate the growth of new tissue, repairing damage to worn-out joints and relieving pain and discomfort.
First, the exact location of the pain is found using an acupuncture needle. Then an injection of diluted dextrose and an anesthetic is given. The anesthetic relieves the pain, while the dextrose stimulates the body’s healing response. It does this by acting as a “shock agent,” drawing water from superficial cells and drying out the site. It induces slight, but controlled inflammation, and the healing process is set in motion.
A common question I get from patients is, “Who else is using Prolotherapy? On which patients?”
It is very interesting because I have used Prolotherapy injections on so many patients from professional athletes to flight attendants. The more my patients learn about Prolotherapy - compared to invasive surgery - the more they see the benefits. That is one of the reasons I started this website and blog, The Prolotherapy Institute.
As I tell my patients, I have used Prolotherapy to manage or eliminate pain in many different parts of the body including the back, the knees, the arms, the shoulders, the hands, the arms, the hips and, even, headaches. While Prolotherapy does not work with 100% of my patients, about 80%-90% of them will experience favorable results after Prolotherapy treatments.
In light of the information above, I would suggest that many patients are using Prolotherapy as a safe, effective treatment for chronic and acute pain.
All the best towards living pain free!
Dr. Darrow
About The Author:Doctor Marc Darrow, M.D. is a board-certified physiatrist and assistant professor at UCLA School of Medicine. As the author of Prolotherapy: Living Pain Free, Dr. Darrow is one of the authorities on Prolotherapy use for pain management. To schedule a consultation or appointment with Dr. Darrow in his Los Angeles, California office, please click here.
Many patients have their doubts about the effectiveness of Prolotherapy treatments. Truth be known, I was a skeptic when I first learned about this unique form of pain management. However, I have treated thousands of patients with Prolotherapy injections and observed positive results in about 80%-90% of my patients.
In fact, I was recently referenced in an ESPN Magazine article about Prolotherapy. Here is what Eddie Matz, from ESPN wrote about my use of Prolotherapy treatments with NFL football players and well-known actresses:
Just because an athlete shoots up doesn’t mean he is on juice. Could be he is hooked on sugar. That’s the idea behind Prolotherapy, an alternative to surgery that is catching on with jocks and celebs alike. From turf toes to torn rotator cuffs, Prolo patients receive anesthetic-laced sugar-water injections directly into an injury once a week for four to eight weeks.
These sessions stimulate the immune system and induce proliferation (hence “Prolo”) of collagen and cartilage. (Proliferation means to grow or multiply by rapidly producing new tissue, parts, cell, or offspring) The results? “Ligaments that are 50% thicker and as much as 400% stronger,” says LA physiatrist Marc Darrow, whose clients include Kansas City Chiefs wideout Johnnie Morton (pelvic pain) and actress Sally Kirkland (knee and foot).
Dr. John McShane, a sports-medicine specialist who works with the Phillies is dubious. “There are no studies to back up these claims,” McShane says. “If a ligament is injected, it becomes inflamed, and scar tissue is created.” Which doesn’t mean it is stronger.
Still, Dr. Darrow is hardly discouraged by detractors-or by canceled appointments. “A lot of my patients I never see again,” he says. “That either means they’re healed or they hate me.” Heavyweight Lamon Brewster is firmly in the former camp. “My knees, my back-everything feels great,” he says. “The best recovery I’ve ever had.” Sweet!
Patient stories about Prolotherapy treatment are intended to inform and educate users about Prolotherapy. As with any medical procedure,
Prolotherapy injection results vary among patients, and there could be risks involved. You should talk to your doctor about Prolotherapy so that you
have proper informed consent and understand there are no guarantees to healing. All rights reserved. Use of this website, ProlotherapyInstitute.com
assumes acceptance of the terms herein. All logos, pictures and trademarks in this site are property of their respective owner.
This website has been developed and presented by Doctor Marc Darrow, MD, author of "Prolotherapy: Living Pain Free".
