Prolotherapy is a method of injection treatment designed to stimulate healing. Prolotherapy owes its origins to the innovation of Dr. Earl Gedney, an osteopathic physician and surgeon. In the early 1930s, Dr. Gedney caught his thumb in closing surgical suite doors thereby stretching the joint and causing severe pain and instability. After being told by his colleagues that nothing could be done for his condition and that his surgical career was over, Gedney did his own research and decided to “be his own doctor.” He knew of a group of doctors called “herniologists” that used irritating solutions to stimulate the repair of the distended connective tissue ring in hernias. He extrapolated this knowledge to inject his injured thumb and was able to fully rehabilitate it.
In 1937, Gedney published “The Hypermobile Joint,” the first known article about Prolotherapy (then called “sclerotherapy”) in the medical literature. The 1937 article gave a preliminary protocol and two case reports - one of a patient with knee pain and another with low back pain - with both successfully treated with this method. Gedney followed up this paper with a presentation at the February 1938 meeting of the Osteopathic Clinical Society of Philadelphia which outlined the technique. The solutions used then (and now) are primarily dextrose-based, although other formulas are used and can be effective. Prolotherapy is practiced by physicians in the U.S. and worldwide, has been shown effective in treating many musculoskeletal conditions - such as tendinopathies, ligament sprains, back and neck pain, tennis/golfers elbow, ankle pain, joint laxity and instability, plantar fasciitis, shoulder, knee pain and other joint pain. It has been endorsed by C. Everett Koop, the former US Surgeon General who was helped by it himself as well as practicing it.
HOW PROLOTHERAPY WORKS
What can prolotherapy be used for?
- Achilles tendon issues
- Plantar fasciitis
- Sprained ankle
- Tibialis posterior tendon injuries
- Morton’s neuroma
- Osgood Schlatter’s Disease
- Shin splints
- Knee, ankle or foot joint osteoarthritis
- Persistent pain due to overuse of muscles, tendons or ligaments
- Medial knee pain
"In the case of chronic ligament or tendon pain that hasn't responded to more conservative treatments such as prescribed exercise or physical therapy, Prolotherapy may be helpful."
Mayo Clinic Newsletter, 2005
Click here to read the full article.
Injections to Kick-Start Tissue Repair
"The technique reactivates the healing process by injecting a mildly irritating substance - commonly a somewhat concentrated sugar solution along with the pain killer lidocaine - into the injured area to stimulate a temporary low-grade inflammation. In some cases, growth factors themselves may be injected."
The New York Times, August 2007
Click here to read the full article.
Prolotherapy for Musculoskeletal Pain
"Prolotherapy, considered an alternative therapy, is quietly establishing itself in mainstream medicine because of its almost irresistible draw for both physicians and patients: nonsurgical treatment for musculoskeletal conditions."
Practical Pain Management, January/February 2007
Click here to read the full article.
Platelet Rich Plasma in Prolotherapy
“Since the early 1990s, and especially within the last couple of years, the use of platelet rich plasma (PRP) as a Prolotherapy formula has gained popularity.”
Practical Pain Management 2009.
Click here to read the full article.
