Prolotherapy is a non-surgical approach to treating pain and joint weakness. It involves the injection of irritant and natural solutions into weakened or stretched ligaments or tendons, which are a source of chronic pain. This releases growth factors and induces an inflammatory reaction, which mimics the normal repair and healing reaction of the body. Most injections are done directly onto the ligament-bone junction. Thus ligaments are “peppered” with multiple injections. This is very different from trigger point injections or steroid injections in both technique and physiology.
Prolotherapy offers a safe effective means of treating ligamentous weakness, dysfunction and pain in the chronic patient, which probably represents a significant portion of chronic musculoskeletal dysfunction and pain. It does require an in depth knowledge of anatomy and training in the use of proper solutions and needle placement. It can safely be used to relieve dysfunction in any articular ligaments depending on their accessibility.
