Prolotherapy and Back Pain Cortisone

● Back pain patient saved from traditional therapies with Prolotherapy
Here at Caring Medical Dr. Hauser sees lot of people who we wish would have come in before they entered the traditional “pain management system” soon after they received a painful injury, and began a journey that led them nowhere. One of our nurse’s spouses was fortunate to have heard about Prolotherapy and was able to be treated with regenerative injection therapy (Prolotherapy) soon after she sprained her back at work.

● Prolotherapy an alternative non surgical treatment option for herniated discsDisc herniation occurs when the small, flat discs (composed of a tough, outer shell surrounding a jellylike material) that cushion the spine bulge or break open. When healthy, these discs act as shock absorbers for the spine and keep the spine flexible. When damaged by injury, wear-and-tear or disease, they herniate. Herniated discs can occur anywhere on the spine, but are most common in the lower back and the neck.

● Prolotherapy Research: Prolotherapy is an effective alternative to surgeryIn this study, Prolotherapy caused a statistically significant improvement in pain and stiffness levels in 34 patients who were told by their medical doctor/surgeon that surgery was needed, including 20 who were told they needed joint replacemnents and nine arthroscopic procedures. Instead, they were treated with Prolotherapy, an injection technique that stimulates the body to repair the injured area using the Hackett-Hemwall technique of Prolotherapy.

● Cortisone or Prolotherapy?
Long ago I realized that in almost every published Prolotherapy study where significant pain improvement was achieved in patients, the results was obtained using either traditional Hackett-Hemwall Prolotherapy and/or dextrose Prolotherapy. To verify this, all one needs to do is examine all of the human Prolotherapy studies performed. It will become clear that the most effective scientifically proven method (at least to this point) is Hackett-Hemwall dextrose Prolotherapy. Certainly the prolotherapy research we have published confirm that! Click here to read any or all of those studies on our research website http://www.prolotherapy.org.

● Prolotherapy and Lumbar Spinal Fusion Common sense would tell anyone that when you fuse two or three spinal segments together, that spinal movement has to come from somewhere. Where? The spinal segments above it and below it will have to move “excessively” because of the spinal fusion. Ultimately, this extra movement and strain will cause accelerated degeneration of the disc, ligaments, and joints of these segments, thus making the person more prone to pain in these areas. This is most likely the explanation for the increased pain a few years down the road and the “need” for more operations later. Is there a better way?

● Exercise induced low back painHilary, a 51-year old woman who had a long history of yoga practice. She was fit, lean and believed that yoga had helped her get that way. Unfortunately, her low back had been in pain for over a year after she injured it in a yoga position. As a result she had decreased her strength and cardio workouts and lost muscle mass. She went from working out everyday to working out twice a week with back pain after both workouts. Her low back pain included sciatica and episodes of her back going out. She continued yoga and even used a special headstand to self-adjust her spine. She had also tried massage therapy and trigger point therapy. She had short term relief after acupuncture and she had it done every week. As the weeks started to add up she was ready for a permanent solution to her back pain. When she heard of Prolotherapy she decided to give it a try.

Cortisone shots and arthroscopy, knee patient looks for alternative in Prolotherapy

Frustrated with cortisone shots and arthroscopy, knee patient looks for alternative in Prolotherapy

We recently received an email from a Montana woman who gave the following history: “I am a 51 year old active woman. I am 5’6′ and weigh 134 lbs and I feel like I’ll have to give up the activities that have been keeping me fit and that I love doing. I do Latin ballroom dancing and cardio dance. I don’t consider either to be ‘pounding’ exercise. I had a ligament tear in 2005 that seemed to have healed fine.

In 2008 I had a medial meniscus tear that occured from no particular incident that never quit hurting.

I had surgery on it in 2009. Four weeks later it started to hurt again. I let it hurt for 6 months before going to a different doctor for a cortisone shot. That felt great for less than 6 months.

I got a second cortisone shot that also lasted less than 6 months. I don’t want another cortisone shot, and now I am having more pain than I had prior to the surgery. I need to find something else for my pain because the route I have been taking is just not working.

Is Prolotherapy a treatment that needs to be received indefinitely or for a number of sessions and then stopped?

Thanks for your reply.”

Caring Medical’s Approach to Treating Post Meniscus Surgery Patients:
We cannot tell you how often we ask our patients why an Arthroscopy was performed and what the post surgery report showed. The answer is typically “I don’t know.” Unfortunately, people agree to procedures, surgeries, or medications without really knowing the reasons for them. We do not have a copy of this emailer’s MRI or surgical report. However, it would be a pretty good guess to say that part of her meniscus was removed.

In our experience, unfortunately, this emailer is now a set up for even more aggressive medial compartment osteoarthritis, resulting in an eventual knee replacement surgery due to multiple cortisone shots and arthroscopy. Fortunately a better solution besides long term chronic knee pain leading to a knee replacement and possible disability is available! The long term solution that is an alternative to joint replacement surgery is Prolotherapy!

Prolotherapy stimulates the body to REPAIR the injured area, not cause further degeneration like NSAIDs, cortisone shots, and arthroscopy. How many Prolotherapy treatments do you need?

As with any medical treatment done at Caring Medical, our Prolotherapy doctor Ross Hauser uses an individualized approach.

After listening to the patient’s history and performing a physical examination, he can determine how many treatments he feels the patient will realistically need, based on the 1000’s of patients he has seen over the years. Follow-up is generally recommended at 4-6 weeks after each treatment to ensure an accurate assessment of results, avoiding an evaluation of a patient during the “window period,” which is typically at the 2-3 week mark. Some patients are seen more frequently, especially when treating an acute injury or sports injury where an athlete needs to return to his/her sport very quickly. As healing progresses, the number of injections required per treatment usually decreases. The pain generally continues to diminish with each treatment to the point where the patient is at 100% function. The average patient requires an average of three to six Prolotherapy treatments at 4-6 week intervals. Some patients require only 1-2 treatments to reach complete healing, where others require more treatments.

A patient’s overall health status plays a role in their healing – eating a healthy diet, getting enough sleep, living an active lifestyle, reducing stress, and eliminating cigarette smoking will help accelerate the healing process. Most of our patients also take ProloMax and ProloSupport Pack to aid in healing from http://www.Benuts.com.

This patient was so excited to hear about Prolotherapy – although she wishes that she heard about it before proceding down this path. She is scheduled to come in for Prolotherapy injections by Dr. Hauser

Ross A. Hauser, M.D.
Dr. Hauser the Medical Director of the comprehensive Prolotherapy, PRP, and Bone Marrow Prolotherapy clinic, Caring Medical & Rehabilitation Services in Oak Park, Illinois. Dr. Hauser is one of the leading experts in the treatment of chronic pain and sports injuries with Prolotherapy.