For anyone interested,,i thought i'd share my first time experience with prolotheray. I first was made aware of it by Carlos Newton's chiropractor, Dr. Paul Biondich. I asked plenty of questions about it on this web site and got plenty of good responses. Two weeks ago i had my first treatment. A glucose solution is injected into the bothersome area,(in this case,my shoulder, which has been operated on before and still dislocates). The glucose solution is no drug,,it only acts as a mild irritant that does two jobs. 1) it stimulates the joint to make the body speed up the recovery process of tightening up.
2) it creates scar tissue that envelops the joint to stabilize it.
They freeze the joint first so you won't feel any pain. Then the glucose solution is injected. There was no inflammation and no bruising at the injected area. Two weeks later,,i came back and had it done a second time. It depends on the joint , the type of solution and a person's reaction to this that determines how many injections it takes to complete the process. The second injection was even easier than the first and went smoothly. The doctor that performed it was Dr. Jason Su. He's a sports medicine specialist in Toronto. 905-275-0182
If you're canadian,,it's all covered under ohip so it doesn't cost anything for the procedure, you only have to pay for the injected solution. Twenty bucks per treatment. I'm expected to receive five or six treatments.
I'll keep you all updated on each treatment and how it feels along the way,,and ultimately,,how it feels when it's all said and done.,,and then,,,it 's back to brazilian jui jitsu and see how much abuse i can give it without dislocating it agaain.
cheers!! Tim
Glad the treatments have gone well so far. Let me clear up a few points in your post that weren't quite correct.
"1) it stimulates the joint to make the body speed up the recovery process of tightening up." First, it doesn't speed up any processes. What it does is cause an inflammatory response. This response is the signal that the body needs in order to know to begin making new tissue. With the response the body deposits new ligament, tendon or muscle tissue and the additional tissue adds strength to a weakened area and allows the connective tissues to do their job properly.
"2) it creates scar tissue that envelops the joint to stabilize it." This is a common misconception...even by doctors sometimes. The prolotherapy causes the body to deposit new tissue in the injected area. However, the new tissue is not scar tissue, but rather whatever type of tissue is present at the injection site. So if it's injected into a ligament then you have new ligamentous tissue made, it if't a tendon then you get new tendonous tissue, etc. If the injection just made scar tissue then you would lose the ability to move the joint through it's normal range of motion and that would cause as many problems as it solved.
Best in Health and Training, J. R.
I really believed it could help me because many people were saying really good things about it..except for my cousins who are doctors (they were saying show us research that proves the theory )
I did it 4 times with one of the best prolotherapist in the USA in the same injured area and now almost 4 months after,same shit..didnt help me at all.
I just spend a lot of money for nothing.
So i was either misdiagnosed or the stuff doesnt work..
No clear evidence supporting the theory of prolotherapy. No evidence of causing tissue growth. It is written, so it is true? Injections work for various other reasons. This is the year 2003, not a single study by anyone confirming the efficacy. This is the truth
howardo has caught the correct.
"Injections work for various other reasons."
Such as? Do you still think it's a worthwhile treatment?
I am trying prolotherapy as a last ditch thing after trying many other treaments with varying degrees of success. I figure it probably can't hurt me except in the wallet so it's worth as shot.
Injections have a variety of mechanisms: the injection itself releases endorphins, the fluid can dilute the inflammation and can constrict blood vessels, reducing inflammatory responses. There are some other reasons that they work but I need to look it up
hmmm. I would say the area of the injections seems to be more inflamed than usual. However this is just me saying...
thanks for the response but I was hoping you'd respond to: "Do you still think it's a worthwhile treatment?" Any thoughts if you have the time?
I've had absolutely fantastic results with a great deal of injuries using prolotherapy.
Best in Health and Training, J. R.
Geoff; i can not say whether it is worthwhile or not. My only knowledge of it comes from a book that I read which was filled with disinformation. I also know that the "science" behind it is wrong. Some people have had good results,apparently, so it is hard to say. I believe that it is not recognized by insurance companies, so you would have to pay on your own. Hope this helps.
I've had very good success with prolotherapy...but freezing to numb the pain? Why the hell didn't I get that? The injections were painful as hell.
thanks howardo. Seems like it seems a worthwhile avenue if you're willing to risk the $$.
People get better for a variety of reasons
I did three prolotherapy sessions on a bad elbow over three months. That shit hurt...really bad. I didn't get any results at all in three months and decided it wasn't worth it.
How much did they charge and who administered it?
if you're canadian,,it's all covered under our health plan and costs you 0 dollars!! good luck! Tim
"if you're canadian,,it's all covered under our health plan "
Not in my experience. $125 Cdn. per treatment. The doc let me know it wasn't covered before we started. Not sure on results yet. Too early to tell. I'm getting it done on the lower back and the pain isn't much compared to what I expected.