The U.S. National Library of Medicine recently performed a study acknowledging the effectiveness of prolotherapy (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_137153.html) We here at Odom Health & Wellness are thrilled. We have been prescribing prolotherapy for a while now. Our patients benefit tremendously from this treatment and it is often a great alternative to surgery and/or pain medication.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with prolotherapy, let me explain what it is. Prolotherapy involves injecting an otherwise non-pharmacological and non-active irritant solution into the body, generally in the region of tendons or ligaments for the purpose of strengthening weakened connective tissue and alleviating musculoskeletal pain. In many cases, the irritant is nothing more than sugar water, which was also used in the NLM study.
The NLM study divided 90 people with knee osteoarthritis and between ages 40 and 76 years old into three groups: one got sugar-water prolotherapy injections, another got salt-water placebo injections, and the third was instructed in at-home exercise and received no injections. The first two groups got injections at least three times, sometimes more if they asked for it, over 17 weeks, and were followed for one year. The sugar water group reported better knee function, improving 16 points on a 100-point scale of osteoarthritis severity, compared to 5 points for saline and 7 points for the exercise group. The sugar water group also reported less frequent and less severe pain, improving 14 points on the same scale, at one year, while the salt water and exercise groups improved 7 points and 9 points, respectively.
This is exciting news for the patients of Odom Health & Wellness. As we have been prescribing this treatment, the science is now catching up with the theories of Dr. George S. Hackett, a general surgeon in the United States who began performing injections of irritant solutions in an effort to repair joints and hernias. We offer prolotherapy to patients who suffer from chronic pain and joint stiffness. However, the process isn’t easy. We carefully screen all candidates before suggesting prolotherapy. We help athletes, seniors, and everyday people. Since our clinic does provide a wide-array of forward-thinking treatments, we ask each patient to come in for a full evaluation before prolotherapy can begin. Dr. Odom has trained with some of the best minds when it comes to prolotherapy. He has spent time with lead investigator Dr. David Rabago, assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin in Madison researching and implementing prolotherapy.
If you’re interested in prolotherapy, please call the office to schedule your initial consultation.