Why Prolotherapy?

Clearly, there is a need for a safe and effective nonsurgical treatment.

Musculoskeletal pain is one of the most common medical complaints in the United States, as well as one of the most frequent reasons for primary care physician visits.[1] In fact, the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons estimates that one in two adults is affected by a musculoskeletal condition. That’s over 126 million people in the United States alone![2] Injury and pain related to regular physical activity is a common occurrence, as are sports-related injuries, both causing ligament, tendon or muscle sprains, strains, tears and other joint injury.[3] Osteoarthritis is also a major health issue and the most frequent joint disease.[4] Unfortunately, the typical medical recommendations for these conditions may not always be effective, and often they have unwanted side effects. In some cases, surgery is considered, but that too may not always be effective—while also posing additional risk. In fact, today, many surgeons themselves are questioning whether surgery is necessarily always the best option for these conditions.[5]

Clearly, there is a need for a safe and effective nonsurgical treatment for musculoskeletal pain and osteoarthritis. Fortunately, we live in an age of possibilities where medicine is ever evolving and advancing. In the 1930s, forward-thinking physicians discovered that injections of natural, but irritating, substances to injured joint areas can stimulate the body’s ability to heal these sites, reducing or eliminating pain. This procedure was named Prolotherapy, short for “proliferation therapy”, because of its ability to stimulate the growth (proliferation) of new tissue. Since that time, there have been remarkable advances in Prolotherapy methods and technology. In addition to treatments involving traditional natural formulas, we have seen extensive positive results from using biologically active formulas such as platelet-rich plasma and/or adult stem cell sources taken from a patient’s own body. With the increased use of these more advanced formulas, Prolotherapy has evolved into “Prolotherapy Regenerative Medicine.”

Bibliography

[1] Uhl RL, Roberts TT, Papaliodis DN, Mulligan MT, Dubin AH. Management of chronic musculoskeletal pain. Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. 2014; 22(2): 101–110.


[2] American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. One in two Americans have a musculoskeletal condition: New report outlines the prevalence, scope, cost and projected growth of musculoskeletal disorders in the U.S. ScienceDaily. 2016 March 1 [cited 2022 March 20] www.sciencedaily.com

[3] Kay MC, Register-Mihalik JK, Gray AD, Djoko A, Dompier TP, Kerr ZY. The epidemiology of severe injuries sustained by national collegiate athletic association student-athletes, 2009–2010 through 2014–2015. Journal of Athletic Training. 2017; 52(2): 117–128; Åman M, Forssblad M, Henriksson-Larsén K. Incidence and severity of reported acute sports injuries in 35 sports using insurance registry data. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports. 2016; 26(4): 451–462.


[4] Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Osteoarthritis Fact Sheet, reviewed July 27, 2020 [cited 2022 March 20] www.cdc.gov.


[5] Wehling P, Moser C, Maixner W. How does surgery compare with advanced intra-articular therapies in knee osteoarthritis: Current thoughts. Therapeutic Advances in Musculoskeletal Disease. 2016; 8(3): 72–85.