The latest issue of the Journal of Prolotherapy has just been received from the printer and will be in the mail to all of its subscribers next week. In this issue, we are happy to feature the publication of this ground-breaking study on the use of Prolotherapy as a first line treatment for meniscal tears and degeneration.
The title of the article published in the July 2010 issue of The Journal of Prolotherapy is The Case for Utilizing Prolotherapy as First-Line Treatment for Meniscal Pathology: A Retrospective Study Shows Prolotherapy is Effective in the Treatment of MRI-Documented Meniscal Tears and Degeneration.
Meniscus injuries are a common cause of knee pain, accounting for one sixth of knee surgeries. Tears are the most common form of meniscal injuries, and have poor healing ability primarily because less than 25% of the menisci receive a direct blood supply. While surgical treatments have ranged from total to partial meniscectomy, meniscal repair and even meniscus transplantation, all have a high long-term failure rate with the recurrence of symptoms including pain, instability, locking, and re-injury. READ MORE…
If you have been told you need surgery for a meniscal tear, think about getting Prolotherapy instead of surgery. To learn more about Prolotherapy click here.
| Authors: Ross A. Hauser, MD, Marion A. Hauser, MS, RD, Nicole M. Baird, CHFP, & Danielle J. Martin |
Thirty-four patients with average musculoskeletal pain duration of 27 months who were told by their medical doctor/surgeon that surgery was needed, including 20 joint replacements and nine arthroscopic procedures, were treated with Hackett-Hemwall dextrose Prolotherapy in lieu of surgery. Patients were followed prospectively and asked questions regarding levels of pain, stiffness, and other physical and psychological symptoms, as well as questions related to activities of daily living before and after their last Prolotherapy treatment.
In this study, Prolotherapy caused a statistically significant improvement in their pain and stiffness. The average starting level of pain was 7.6 and stiffness 7.2, but after Prolotherapy they decreased to 1.3 and 2.5 respectively. Ninety-one percent of patients felt Prolotherapy gave them 50% or greater pain relief, and 71% felt the pain relief was greater than 75%. Upon interview, an average of 10 months after their last Prolotherapy session, this study revealed improvement in patients’ quality of life parameters in addition to pain and stiffness including depression, anxiety, medication usage, as well as range of motion, sleep and exercise ability. Seventy-nine percent felt they had enough pain relief with Prolotherapy that they will not now or in the future need surgery. Four of the remaining seven patients noted 50% or greater pain relief from the Prolotherapy and plan on getting more Prolotherapy in the future.
In this study, Prolotherapy was able to eliminate the need for surgery realistically in 31 out of 34 patients. If Prolotherapy could eliminate 80% of musculoskeletal surgeries in the United States, this procedure alone could make a tremendous dent in cost savings to Medicare, private insurers, and patients. This does not include the money that is lost from productivity and additional expenses that accompany surgery such as future or revision surgeries, rehabilitation, physiotherapy, medications, or disability (from continued pain). Prolotherapy does not have the risks associated with surgery. Often patients can immediately return to work after receiving Prolotherapy. Since results with Prolotherapy are often permanent, no future treatments are needed. These are reasons enough for patients to consider a Prolotherapy evaluation before undergoing a musculoskeletal surgery.
As this pilot study found such significant improvements in these participants with chronic musculoskeletal pain who were told that surgery was needed, further studies under more controlled circumstances, with larger patient populations, should be done.
Journal of Prolotherapy. 2010;(2)1:272-281.
KEYWORDS: alternative to knee replacement, alternative to surgery, arthroscopy, joint replacement, Prolotherapy.
To read the full article:
http://www.prolotherapy.org/prolotherapy/alternative-to-surgery-introduction
Caring Medical and Rehabilitation Services’ Dr Ross Hauser and his team have completed a study on 28 patients who received Prolotherapy versus surgery for their meniscal injuries/tears. The results are outstanding. More to come on Prolotherapy as an alternative to knee surgery and RICE treatment.
Subscribe to the Journal of Prolotherapy for $100/year and receive quarterly paper and electronic versions of the JOP containing the most up-to-date research, case reports, and information on the topic of Prolotherapy.
If you are looking for one or two issues to read or to pass along to your physician or family or friends, that’s also an option – purchase a single issue for $25.
The evidence for Prolotherapy as an alternative to surgery, arthroscopy, chronic pain medication use, repeated trips to PT/chiropractors/massage therapy, is there! JOP presents you with much of the data to support this – from leaders in the field.
Prolotherapy stimulates the body to repair the painful injured areas. It is the most cost effective, effective treatment for pain and injury, as well as sports injuries. Surgery, scopes, NSAIDs – what do they have in common? They accelerate the degenerative arthritic process. Prolotherapy does the opposite.
Looking for a qualified Prolotherapy physician? Take a look at www.getprolo.com.
Prolotherapy is a medical procedure that many chronic and acute pain patients, as well as athletes with sports injuries, are turning to because it is used as an alternative to surgery, arthroscopy, cortisone shots, non-steroidal anti-inflammatories, and/or chronic use of narcotic pain medications. Prolotherapy stimulates the body to repair the painful injured area(s) when the body’s natural healing process is not able to do the job on its own. In most cases, commonly prescribed anti-inflammatory medications and more drastic measures like surgery, joint replacements, cortisone shots, and other therapies may not help, and often hinder or even prevent the healing process.
The Journal of Prolotherapy wants to hear from you! Many people have been saved from unnecessary surgeries, joint replacements, arthroscopies, and a lifetime of pain meds. Physicians and patients! We want to hear from you.
Send us your stories at BairdN@journalofprolotherapy.com.
When back pain is due to loose ligaments, a very characteristic behavior of pain is observed. A patient with loose ligaments of the lumbar spine or pelvis will experience recurring dysfunctions at the intervertebral joint (degenerative disc and possible nerve compression), at the facet joints (locking in flexion or extension), and at the sacroiliac joints. In other words, the low back pain can be due to an unstable disc problem, facet joint locking, or sacroiliac dysfunction.
For more information on back pain articles and to view Prolotherapy to the low back, click here.
For back pain research on using Prolotherapy for treatment of back pain, see the Journal of Prolotherapy 1:3 where a number of authors presented their work.
To read the Hauser study in detail (Dextrose Prolotherapy for Unresolved Low Back Pain: A Retrospective Case Series Study,) click here.
02/08/2010
(February 8, 2010 Oak Park, IL) Can simple sugar (dextrose Prolotherapy) injections help prevent back surgery and joint replacement? One newly published study suggests that the dextrose injections, or Prolotherapy, can eliminate the need for surgery in up 90% of patients.
Lead researcher and chronic pain specialist Ross Hauser, M.D., of Oak Park, IL says that his team followed the progress of 34 patients who had suffered with chronic pain for at least 27 months and who had been recommended to surgery. All 34 patients received dextrose injections in varying number in painful joints and portions of the spine.
“We took some difficult cases,” says Dr. Hauser, “with a long list of surgical procedures including joint replacements and arthroscopic procedures as the prognosis, and started treatment with Prolotherapy to see if we could help these people avoid surgery.
Prolotherapy utilizes the injections of an irritant causing solution into problematic joints and spine. Doctors hope that the irritation leads to an inflammatory response from the immune system, one that would rebuild weakened joints by strengthening ligaments and tendons.
“It is a very simple procedure that works very well,” says Dr. Hauser. “Joints and the spine are held together by a very intricate network of ligaments, tendons, and other connective tissue. When these ligaments and tendons are weakened through injury, overuse, chronic medication or anti-inflammatory usage, they become unstable. Unstable spines lead to pinched nerves, unstable joints lead to “wobbly” conditions that are usually sent to surgery.
Participants in the study were charted about their levels of pain, stiffness, and quality of life. Over ninety percent of the patients reported a significant decrease in their pain (measured at a 50% or more reduction) and over 70% measured their pain reduction at greater than 75%.
“What is important to understand in these patients is that over 90% of the test subjects did not need to go onto surgery and that these results were measured at least 10 months after their last treatment,” says Hauser, “showing that the positive effects of the treatment are long lasting. More far reaching was the improvement these patients showed in quality of life, with pain reduced; these patients suffered less depression, better sleep, and less anxiety. They also showed significant reduction and reliance in the use of medications.”
Dr. Hauser also points out that Prolotherapy is an in-office procedure that does not require the extended recovery time or risks associated with surgical procedure. “These patients can get Prolotherapy in the morning, and go right to work. In these days of economic hardship, this is a special benefit for those worried about their jobs.”
For more information contact Ross Hauser, M.D., at Caring Medical and Rehabilitation Services in Oak Park, Illinois at drhauser@caringmedical.com.
