How many sessions are required?
The manufacturer claims that most individuals need 4 sessions of treatment (if the treatment is curative, one wonders why more treatments are necessary?) Or if the pain has disappeared, why should one need more Prolotherapy? These are just some of the questions that remain unanswered.
Is there pain afterwards?
After the injections, all patients have some degree of discomfort at the pain site. The soreness does remain for some time- some individuals even get a flare up of pain and the manufacturer claims that this is simply part of the healing process.
What are complications?
Other risks of the injections are pain, swelling and bruising. Judging from the literature, there have been a fair number of complications depending on where this substance has been injected. Many patients have also developed severe nerve injury which has resulted in pain which is more than they started off with.
What is cost of prolotherapy
Before you jump in the queue for Prolotherapy, know that many insurance companies do not cover this treatment and Medicare has so far rejected it as pseudo science. The cost of a single joint injection ranges from $200- $300. For those who need more than one injection, the cost can be as high as $1,000-1500. And the manufacturers recommended 4 sessions.
Is it approved?
NO. At present Prolotherapy is considered experimental; therapy. Every single scientific study which has reviewed Prolotherapy has found it to be ineffective in the treatment of chronic pain.
Does it work?
Definitely not. This is just another worthless treatment for back and joint pain, designed to scam people. Unfortunately, many health care professionals have been hyping about the therapy but there is ZERO clinical evidence. Few testimonials on cyberspace claim this is a painful procedure which does nothing and is expensive.
Final Point
There are a great many doctors administering Prolotherapy but that does not mean it works or that it is effective- the common denominator is money. So in the end, read about the treatment and talk to people. If you are ever in doubt about your health care worker and his/her response, always get a second opinion. Medicine and money has yet to heal any disease and has been known to create more problems that you started off with. Therefore, Buyer Beware. Best advice- keep away from prolotherapy, just another scam.
You really should do just a little research before you post fraudulent statements about prolotherapy. "zero clinical evidence" Really?
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osteoarthritis (knees and fingers) indicate substantial and statistically significant clinical benefit from dextrose injection as compared with control solution." (http://www.treatingpain.com/medlibrary/Prolotherapy_Technique_Clincal_Science.pdf)
Check out the myriad of case studies at
http://www.prolotherapyresearch.com/
Knee and hip cartilage don't just regrow on their own. These X-rays don't lie.
If Prolotherapy is a "scam", why is Mayo Clinic supporting it? Do they maybe know something you don't?
As of April 2005, doctors at the Mayo Clinic began supporting prolotherapy. Robert D. Sheeler, MD (Medical Editor, Mayo Clinic Health letter) first learned of prolotherapy through C. Everett Koop’s interest in the treatment. Mayo Clinic doctors list the areas that are most likely to benefit from prolotherapy treatment: ankles, knees, elbows, and the sacroiliac joint located in the lower back. They report that "unlike corticosteroid injections — which may provide temporary relief — prolotherapy involves improving the injected tissue by stimulating tissue growth." (Mayo Clinic (2005). "Alternative treatments: Dealing with chronic pain". Mayo Clinic Health Letter 23 (4))
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prolotherapy lists three ongoing clinical trials.
It only took me 15 minutes to find this information. I think you are the scammer trying to keep people in pain from a proven treatment that you are biased against.
I have had chronic pain in my left lower back for 15 years. I have been through therapy; many, many times. Chiropractor for years. Pain Clinics. Massage Therapy. Two orthopedic epidural injections that lasted a few weeks and cost about $4000.00. If you do any research you will find that this treatment has been around for the last 2500 years. Not exactly the same way they do it now but non the less, it has been done in one form or another. After one treatment the pain in my left buttock is gone. I have never felt better.
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