We are busy working on the next issue of the Journal of Prolotherapy. One of the feature articles we report on is a retrospective study of 28 patients from the private practice of Ross Hauser, MD, Caring Medical & Rehabilitation Services in Oak Park, IL.
The literature review of surgery (meniscectomy, arthroscopy) for meniscal tears is not good. Most people are left with pain and debilitation and certainly do not achieve curative results. In 28 patients, 27 of them received a cure with Hackett-Hemwall Prolotherapy in this study.
Stay tuned for more details. If you have not subscribed to the Journal of Prolotherapy, click here.
We received the following email from a fellow Prolotherapy physician:
Dr. Hauser: I have been doing Prolotherapy on tendons & ligaments for years. I have, however, stayed out of the knee joint, theorizing that there is no blood supply & healing of the meniscus. I saw your You Tube piece on knee injections and it stirred considerable interest.
What agent and quantity have you been injecting interarticular? What are your results & adverse reactions? Any pearls & suggestions?
Thanks.
Our response:
Dear Dr,
Thanks for your email. It is a good question.
Please note the Journal of Prolotherapy 2:3 will contain a complete review of the meniscus and Prolotherapy, so please at least get that issue! The issue is due out in August 2010.
Regarding your question, I would recommend you either use Human Growth Hormone (2iu) along with the normal Hackett-Hemwall Prolotherapy solution (12.5 to 15% dextrose, 10% Sarapin) or use platelet rich plasma Prolotherapy using the Hackett-Hemwall method, (3.5 or so ccs of solution injected intraarticularly). To be honest with you, I feel it is most important that you make sure you fully treat the knee instability that caused the meniscus issue in the first place!
All in all, the results of Prolotherapy for meniscal degeneration and tears is simply spectacular!
Regards,
Medical Director, Caring Medical & Rehabilitation Services
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.
Prolotherapy is growing in Mexico in large part because of Dr. Jose Eleazar Calderon de la Fuente at www.proloterapia.com. Dr. Ross Hauser and Dr. Calderon have been long time friends since first meeting at a course that Marion/Ross Hauser were teaching in Toluca, Mexico over 10 years ago. Dr. Calderon, a former orthopedist, is now one of the main Prolotherapy physicians in Mexico. Below is a photo of a course he recently taught where the physicians all received copies of Prolo Your Pain Away!
