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WHY GET PROLOTHERAPY?
DONNA
ALDERMAN, D.O.
When you become a physician, you take the
Hippocratic Oath. The first rule of the Hippocratic Oath is "First of
all, do no harm." This is why Prolotherapy appealed to me as a physician.
I was a doctor at a famous HMO. After learning Prolotherapy, however, I went
into private practice. Patient after patient came to the office with foot
pain, knee pain, shoulder pain, back pain, sports injuries, you name it. I
probably knew more than the average doctor in regards to musculoskeletal
injuries, but I was still at a loss as to how to cure the pain. I helped the
pain in many cases, but cures were seldom. You see, I had studied to be an
osteopathic family physician because I wanted to be able to help not only
medical problems, but musculoskeletal complaints as well. Though I had learned
manipulation and state-of-the-art rehabilitation techniques, there were many
chronic pain patients whom I just was not able to get better.
Osteopathic physicians (D.O.s) receive the same
medical education as M.D.s, and hold equivalent licenses to practice medicine.
However D.O.s receive extra training in the musculoskeletal system.
Osteopathic physicians can prescribe medications, but are also skilled in
musculoskeletal adjustments which enhance skeletal alignment and optimize
circulation. For many people this combination is very appealing.
When a person with chronic pain came into my
office, I would make sure they were in proper alignment using such treatments
as manipulation. Physical therapy was usually prescribed to improve the
chances of healing the injuries and improving their strength. If a patient
failed to respond to the usual modalities, I felt helpless. Because of my
belief that a physician should "Do no harm," I was reluctant to
prescribe pain killers or send someone for a surgical consult unless it was a
clear-cut case of a surgical need (this is extremely rare). The statistics on
musculoskeletal surgical procedures helping people never impressed me. I have
seen too many drug addicts accidentally created by physicians. Because of this
I cannot encourage someone in that direction. I have also seen people go into
kidney failure from anti-inflammatory medication, so I cannot advocate that
method of treatment. I was getting discouraged because I would continually
hear, "Doctor, it's better but the pain is still there..." or,
"Doctor, why does my joint click?" or, "Doctor, am I ever going
to get better?" I began to dread picking up a chart and seeing the
diagnosis of knee pain or back pain. That is, until I learned about
Prolotherapy. Now I look forward to these cases, because I can help them with
Prolotherapy.
Curing Chronic Pain versus Covering Up
Chronic Pain
Prolotherapy is a minimally invasive,
tremendously safe therapy that stimulates the body's healing mechanisms. In
that sense I believe it is a natural treatment. (Pain comes from) tears in the
ligaments commonly referred to as sprains, where tears in the tendons are
called strains. Ligaments connect the bones together, providing stability to
the joints. Tendons connect the muscles to the bones and move the joints. When
ligaments and tendons are injured they hurt. Typical treatments available to
the patient including cortisone shots, ice, and anti-inflammatories just cover
up the pain, so the patient feels better temporarily. (Feeling better) the
patient then cannot sense further (damage to their ligaments) because the
cortisone shot is covering up the pain. This just makes the injury worse.
Prolotherapy can remove the source of the pain,
rather than covering it up, because it helps the ligaments heal. Ligaments
were always an enigma to me and I could never figure out why, on the cadavers
and anatomical drawings, they always appeared white. When I started studying
Prolotherapy, it all made sense. Ligaments have a deficit in their ability to
heal because they have a poor blood supply. Because they have a poor blood
supply, and because they are rich in nerve endings, they are white in color.
Muscles, on the other hand, appear red in color because of their plentiful
blood supply. This is why muscle injuries heal quickly and are almost never
the source of chronic pain or athletic injuries.
For those with a chronic pain injury,
Prolotherapy essentially turns the chronic injury into an acute one by
activating the immune system at the site of the injury. After the Prolotherapy
treatment is given, an increase in the blood supply to the area occurs which
brings nutrients and immune cells to heal the area. Prolotherapy not only
strengthens weak joints, some studies have shown it can continue to increase
the strength in a joint above normal. (Liu, Y. et al. An in situ study of the
influence of a sclerosing solution in rabbit medial collateral ligaments and
its junction strength.)
At a Prolotherapy conference, Dr. Gustav
Hemwall, the world's most experienced Prolotherapist at that time, was asked
the question, "Why don't more people do Prolotherapy if it is so
effective?" Dr. Hemwall calmly and accurately answered, "Because it's
too simple."
There you have it. What is simpler than finding
an area that is painful, where the ligament attaches to the bone, and
injecting it with a solution that will cause the ligaments to regenerate and
strengthen? I hear all the time from patients that the orthopedist required
x-rays in order to properly diagnose their problems. What ever happened to
examining the patient? The fundamental basis for all healing is listening and
examining. Rarely are x-rays and MRIs ordered in the Prolotherapist's office
because they are just not needed.
The exact location of the pain is often found
by simple palpation. By palpating the point where the ligaments attach to the
bones (the fibro-osseous junction) and eliciting a positive jump sign,"
the patient and doctor feel confident that the exact site has been found.
Prolotherapy to that exact painful area is then done. If the correct area is
injected with enough proliferant-containing anesthetic, the patient will have
immediate pain relief.
Introduction to Prolotherapy
Why Get Prolotherapy? Donna Alderman, D.O.
What is Prolotherapy?
Alvin
Stein, M.D.
Introduction to Prolotherapy
Ross
Hauser, M.D.
How
Safe Is Prolotherapy? Ross
Hauser, M.D.
The
Importance of an Experienced Prolotherapist Ross
Hauser, M.D.
Non-Surgical
Tendon, Ligament and Joint Reconstruction William J. Faber, D.O.
How Does Prolotherapy Work? Marc
Darrow, M.D.
When Prolotherapy May Not Work David Harris, M.D.
Twenty
Common Questions About Prolotherapy
David
Harris, M.D.
The History of Prolotherapy Ross
Hauser, M.D.
Curing Chronic Pain with Prolotherapy Scott
Greenberg, M.D.
Why So Many Turn To Prolotherapy
David Harris, M.D.
Prolotherapy
and Chronic Pain Ross Hauser, M.D.
Peripheral Joints
& Prolotherapy
Jay W. Nielsen, M.D.
Orthopedic Medicine: A
Non-Surgical Approach to Chronic Pain Lawrence
Cohen, M.D.
The Difference
Between Prolotherapy, Trigger Points, and Acupuncture Marc Darrow,
M.D.J.D.
Prolotherapy: Creating
Inflammation in an Area that is Already Inflamed Marc Darrow,
M.D.J.D.
Growth Factor Basis of
Prolotherapy
David Harris, M.D.
What
Does It Take To Heal Connective Tissue?
Dave
Harris, M.D.
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