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Prolotherapy
is defined in Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary as "The rehabilitation
of an incompetent structure as a ligament or tendon, by the induced
proliferation of new cells."
Prolotherapy is a medical treatment for chronic soft tissue injuries.
Soft tissue injuries (strains and bruises of muscles, tendons, ligaments
and fascia) are the most common sports injuries. These soft tissues
are also commonly injured in auto, household, and work accidents. The
majority of these injuries heal through the body's own internal mechanism
of producing inflammation which triggers the proliferation of fibrous
tissue that mends the damaged areas. This tissue at maturity is remodeled
so that the damaged ligament or tendon is able to function normally.
The majority of these injuries do heal, but a disturbing minority go
on to chronic pain and dysfunction. The injured person is no longer
able to function at his or her prior level and repeated attempts to
return to full activity result in pain and frustration. Drugs and physical
therapy measures can soothe the condition, but it never heals properly.
Many of those injuries that don't heal are at the attachment of the
ligament or tendon to the bone, an area with relatively poor circulation
and thus less capacity for healing.
Prolotherapy is a form of medical treatment that can help heal many
of these problem cases. By injecting a substance designed to create
inflammation (ordinarily, concentrated glucose) the doctor can stimulate
the body to heal these areas by re-creating the chemical environment
of a fresh injury. This will trigger the proliferation of fibrous tissue
and give the injured tendon or ligament a second chance to heal and
be "re-welded" to its attachment to the bone. Clinical research
studies have shown a 75% success rate in chronic musculoskeletal pain
patients. Biopsies of ligamentous tissue before and after prolotherapy
show an abundance of healthy new ligamentous tissue after treatment.
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