How much pain are you experiencing at this very moment? We all experience aches in our bodies at one point or another. Whether because we are getting a little bit older or because we are physically active (a bit too much), we can feel a lot of agony.
Torn tendons, stretched ligaments, weakened bones. Whatever the case, it can be dreadful to go through life with pain in your shoulder, thigh or ankle. But you don’t have to go day by day with this discomfort because there is a solution: prolotherapy injections.
Prolotherapy, otherwise known as non-surgical ligament and tendon reconstruction, is a type of orthopedic procedure that invigorates the body’s healing process to repair injuries and even strengthen joints and connective tissue that were once bothering you. It sounds like a miracle procedure – to some it is – but this has been around for quite a while. That said, before you call your family doctor right away, there are a few things you need to be aware of.
Here are five things you need to know about prolotherapy injections:
1. Prolotherapy Works by Working Naturally with the Body
Like anything else, you want to know how something works before it goes inside of your body.
Well, here is how it works to quench your curiosity:
- It stimulates your body’s natural healing mechanisms.
- A directed injection goes into the injured or affected area.
- The injection tricks the body into repairing itself again.
- After several treatments, your tissue is restored to its original state.
- The ingredients found in an injection include dextrose, lidocaine, procaine and saline.
It isn’t exactly new because the term dates back to the 1930s and the treatment originates back in 500 B.C.
2. Various Parts of Your Body Can be Treated
If there is pain in a specific part of your body, a prolotherapy injection can serve as a remedy.
Yes, such an injection can help alleviate the discomfort in your neck, knees, wrists, hands, shoulders, elbows and feet. The treatment is quite eclectic.
Moreover, it can rectify some of the more common pains, including osteoarthritis, bursitis, degenerative knee cartilage, torn rotator cuff, plantar fasciitis and much more.
3. Treatment Doesn’t Come with Any Pain
One of the aspects that frighten would-be patients is the potential pain that’s inflicted. Don’t you worry: there is no pain when you are treated. The only pain you will experience is what you already have – and you’re trying to heal that right away.
4. Success Varies Patient to Patient
Studies have found that prolotherapy injections come with a success rate of 85 percent on average – it is lower for some ailments and higher for others.
That said, not everyone may qualify for prolotherapy injections. Before you are accepted for an injection, you need to perform the following: evaluation, physical exam, radiological/ultrasound exam, laboratory work and a pow wow about your patient history with your doctor. Once this is complete then the doctor will confirm if you should have an injection or not.
5. Procedures Won’t Take Too Long
You don’t need to fret about downtime or missing an entire day’s work. The average prolotherapy injection will take at maximum one hour. This includes preparation, treatment and recovery time. One hour, that’s it. What’s not to like?
It can be nearly impossible coping with aches and pains. You can’t get any rest, you can’t move properly and exercise is completely out of the question. Your life is limited because of the pain. Hopefully, your doctor will recommend a prolotherapy injection. If not, you should immediately request information from your physician to determine if this is something that is right for you. Perhaps you can finally wave goodbye to the agonizing pain, which is followed by even more horrendous pain.
