What Is Prolotherapy Treatment?

Before we start sticking needles in you, you probably want to learn a little more about prolotherapy treatment, including what we’re doing and why we’re doing it. Prolotherapy has repeatedly proven to be a successful method of reconstruction therapy. Most people become interested in it as an alternative to invasive surgical procedures. It’s much easier than surgery, not to mention cheaper, as well as being far less dangerous. Surgery poses major health risks, especially to seniors and people in a weakened state or condition, and can lead to further problems that could have been avoided. Prolotherapy is an effective way to fight certain conditions causing severe pain and discomfort.

The term prolotherapy is keyed from the phrase proliferation therapy, and is sometimes even referred to as prolo. The word proliferation means a rapid increase in numbers, which fits prolotherapy perfectly because it is designed to increase the amount of collagen and cartilage produced in certain areas of the body. Pain caused by arthritis or injury can be relieved through prolotherapy as it works to regenerate the soft tissue in the damaged regions. Pain is a response to the body recognizing weak tissue that isn’t receiving enough blood flow to repair itself. The growth of new tissues, like collagen and cartilage, strengthen the area and reduce discomfort.

Prolotherapy is performed by a series of injections. The syringe can be filled with varying liquids, from dextrose (or sugar water) to chemicals, depending on the injury being treated. Injecting the body with the liquid causes the body to respond with natural inflammation of the pierced region. When inflammation occurs, blood flow is increased to the inflamed area, which brings more oxygen and nutrients to the tissue, thus healing it. The best part about prolotherapy treatment is that it encourages the body to heal itself naturally instead of manipulating it with harsh medications or pain killers. The amount of injections necessary to treat a given condition will vary from patient to patient and injury to injury, but usually takes between four and six treatments.

The most important thing to know about prolotherapy treatment is that it’s used to treat damage to the tendons and ligaments. The ligaments are the rubber band-like pieces of tissue that hold the bones together within the joints. Tendons are what secure the muscle to the bone. Ligament and tendon injuries are quite common, and can occur at varying levels of severity. Prolotherapy should be considered in cases of extreme pain and discomfort.

We can find prolotherapy being used throughout history when we examine some cases of Hippocrates and his armies. History shows Hippocrates using prolotherapy to heal the dislocated shoulder of one of his soldiers. A hot poker was used to damage to shoulder, inflaming the area and damaging it further, only to have it heal completely.