Mark Wheaton, MD and Nichole Jensen provide the Journal of Prolotherapy readers with an amazing article in the JOP 2010; (2)1:294-304 discussing the ligament injury connection to osteoarthritis.
Injury to a joint increases the chances that the joint will develop osteoarthritis over time. Osteoarthritis, though an accepted term used to describe degenerative joint disease, is misleading because it primarily relates to cartilage, not bone, and involves degeneration, not inflammation. A lack of understanding about the development of osteoarthritis has resulted in a broad array of symptom-based treatment options such as rest, ice, heat, analgesics, anti-inflammatories, narcotics, braces and wraps, physical therapy, chiropractic, viscosupplementation, corticosteroid injections, and surgery. Being that ligament injury, excess laxity, joint hypermobility, and clinical instability are known to be major causes of osteoarthritis, any treatment which can address restoration of ligament function would help reduce the incidence, pain, and dysfunction of osteoarthritis. Prolotherapy is a treatment that can cure the ligament injuries associated with osteoarthritis and offers a safer, less costly option to patients.
To read the full article, subscribe to the Journal of Prolotherapy at www.journalofprolotherapy.com.
