Prolotherapy / regenerative injection the | Arthritis Information
Best of luck with your healing!
Added note: (you probably already know this) All those other types of injections, such as Synvisc, are only lubricants. They are a temporary solution. Your joint and cartilage will continue to errode if you do these types of injections.
Prolotherapy actually tightens and strengthens your tendons and ligaments which in turn will keep your joint/knee cap stable. Once it is stable, it won't rub off any more cartilage or bone from the joint. Do your research. You will find there is a major difference between those other shots, and prolotherapy.
It's a totally different outcome with permanent results.
I, too, have had good success with Prolotherapy. Also called "regenerative injection therapy".
The other types of treatments such as Synvisc, rooster comb, and cortizone injections do nothing to prevent further damage. Nor do they help reverse the damage you already have.
Prolotherapy IS capable of reversing damage, and preventing further injury.
Wanted to give you all an update of my progress. At my last posting, I had had 4 prolotherapy treatments on each knee. As a result, I was able to climb and descend stairs with much more ease, which I couldn't do before the prolotherapy treatments. However, I was still unable to get in and out of a chair without pain - I had to use my arms as leverage.
So I spoke with my doctor and opted to do PRP injections. (look up Platelet Rich Plasma). She withdrew some of my own blood, spun it in a centrifuge, and injected the platelets/ plasma back into both knees. My results so far are amazing. First off, I recovered very quickly after the PRP injections. The injections are a little more painful than regular dextrose prolotherapy because the fluid of the plasma is thicker. But, the results have been almost immediate, and I am now able to get in and out of chairs with much less pain than before (and I don't have to use my arms anymore as leverage)
I am ever so grateful for discovering prolotherapy. I won't deny that it's painful. But it works. And it works without surgery. And not only does it work, but you're able to get back to the activities you long thought were lost to you. If any of you have any questions please feel free to contact me. This will even help those who have had surgeries, but still have pain.
Good luck in your search!
Baby'sGotKnees2008-04-04 12:41:36Dear BabysGotKnees,
Can you pls tell me how you found a doc that does PRP injections?
I am having prolotherapy done in the ACL in both knees.
I have some improvement but I am still sore walking down steps.
Thanks.
SoreHands, don't give up. It took many months for me to start seeing major improvement. You don't necessarily need the PRP to recover - the regular dextrose injections will work, but just perhaps may take a little longer. If you google the topic, there are websites that list Prolotherapists across the country. Maybe you can find one nearby that also does PRP.
In my experience, when you are in the midst of the treatments, it seems like you'll never recover. But hang in there. For me, the recovery has been very slow and methodical, but it is the only form of treatment that appealed to me. From what I can tell, surgery just causes more problems later down the road. All I can say is that I'm improving day by day.
By the way, I've had one more 'regular' prolotherapy treatment since my last post. So this makes a total of 6 treatments on each knee. I am back to swimming now, and feeling pretty darn good. My left knee feels like it might need one or two more treatments - it was the most damaged of the two. But the good news is that I bounce back after treatments much faster now than when I first started. Now it only takes a couple days before I'm able to get back to my activities.
Baby'sGotKnees2008-06-29 19:16:55Anyone here with severe hip OA tried PRP?I'm pleased to find a motivated community that seeks cutting edge approaches to maximize the body's natural ability to heal itself. I am a physician in Santa Monica, CA performing research & development of Platelet Rich Plasma Therapy. We are seeing good results with arthritis tendon/ligament injuries in both the high level athlete & in the weekend warrior.
Soon, Mesenchymal adult stem cells will be used, which offer the highest potential in cases with severe cartilage loss (chondropenia). We are seeing an epidemic of Chondropenia(cartilage loss) at earlier ages (30-60 years old) as a result of being physically active & experiencing trauma in the past (meniscal tears & knee scopes etc.).
Feel free to check out my blog & web site that is a forum for patients & health practitioners to follow the latest developments in "orthobiologics."
Sincerely,
Dr Steven Sampson
Hey, it's been a couple of months since my last post and I wanted to give you all an update. Two great things happened this weekend. First - Yesterday, I went HIKING. I was able to maneuver moderate inclines and descents, so I was thrilled. I hiked for about an hour and a half, and experienced zero pain. Then, today .............. I rode my bike for the first time in 4 years. It was a moderate and short ride, but again I experienced zero pain. I am so thrilled folks, that I don't know how to express it in words.
The next goal that I'm going to shoot for is to be able to get up from a sitting position on the floor. And I am also still unable to stand up from a full squat without experiencing some pain. I plan on getting a couple more prolotherapy treatments in both knees to reach this goal.
For those of you who are still thinking surgery is your only route - remember, I was bone on bone with my knees.
Good luck in your recoveries. I'll let you know when I reach my next goal.
Cheers!
A great success story!
Please keep updating us.
Ron
hey BabysGotKNEES!
i only just learned about this treatment, and it is very encouraging reading your posts.
i have a plethora of spinal issues, and knees also (left acl removed in 78, right acl reconstructed in 95, left acl reconstructed in 98.. both reconstructions were patellar tendon grafts) left knee has NO cartilage and a good bit of arthritis. ... but up until recently i was still going to 'turbo kick' 3x a week. i have a long history of dance class, and my hypermobility of joints is probably what is now doing me in, pain wise. it's too bad i had teachers that went, "higher, higher with that leg!!!"
the spine, oh, that's another story. and that's what needs the prolo right now.
i had some herniated disks about ten years back, but after a year of doing a lot of nothing the pain pretty much went away. exacerbated as of late due to a small car accident in 2006, i have periods where things are fairly fine and then i have periods of excruciating pain. i can feel the bones slipping around. for real!
what kind of costs are incurred in this therapy?
Hi guys ........ thanks for your well wishes and support. I happen to live in Colorado. For the money question: My particular insurance does not cover the treatments so it's all been out of pocket. And from what I've seen on the internet, prices vary all over the country so it will be different where ever you live. I wanted to also share with you that because of the great results I'm having with my knees, I've also had Prolo treatments on my shoulders, hips, and lower back. Those locations have not needed near as many treatments as my knees - my knees were really bad off. The treatments are never fun, but I just try to buck up and be brave for about 5 minutes and then it's over. A great website for information is
Prolonews.com - You can also find listings of Prolotherapists at
getprolo.com
I, too, have read some of the negative stories floating around on the internet, and can only assume either the patient gave up too early, or went to a doctor that didn't fully specialize in Prolotherapy. I must tell you, if I had stopped going after my first or second treatment I might have questioned the efficacy of Prolotherapy, too, because my knee ligaments were in constant pain following the first few months of treatments. However, I trusted my doctor completely. She gets skiiers back on their skis. She gets runners back on their feet. So I kept on going. I am very, very happy with my recovery so far and really extremely thankful that I found out about Prolo when I did. I was heading down the path to surgery and didn't want to go there.
Baby'sGotKnees2008-07-21 17:32:07Baby'sGotKnees, this is really interesting news.
I'm a runner who was diagnosed with significant post-traumatic osteoarthritis in both knees a couple of years ago. I didn't stop running, because running doesn't hurt, oddly enough. Instead, I switched to triathlons. I've had synvisc injections which didn't do much that I could see, except make 0 disappear from my bank account.
I've been told that down the road I'll "definitely" need knee surgery, which would put an end to running. I'd love to think there was an alternative, but prolotherapy sounds too good to be true. Your story is pretty amazing, however. I'll have to look into this!
One question: what about your range of motion? If prolotherapy "tightens" ligaments, did you experience less ROM than before? Intuitively, I'd think so, which wouldn't be good.
Hi RunLolaRun (loved that movie, BTW) :-)
I'm not a doctor, but will do my best to explain the whole ligament thing. When ligaments become lax - (from age, from over stretching, from extreme athletics, whatever) - your joint will start to move around on itself, and the ligaments will continue to become more and more weakened and frayed. Over time they will become so thin and frayed that they no longer hold your joint stable. Your joint will then start "rubbing on itself" which starts the cascade of rubbing off the cartilage, and developing arthritis.
Prolotherapy prompts your body/joint to heal itself, and the ligaments become strong, thick and healthy again. I have not lost any range of motion, and not sure I have read of anyone having this occur. Your body just brings it back to where it's suppose to be.
I'm sorry that I've made this sound "too good to be true". I certainly don't want to paint a picture to anyone that this was a quick fix or an easy road. For me, it has been a long journey getting healthy again, but then again, my knees were in super bad shape. If you start your treatments before you lose too much cartilage the quicker your recovery will be (in my humble opinion). I have a really good Prolotherapy doctor who has been very supportive through this whole process. I maintained the strong belief that this was the right path for me, and would work if I hung in there long enough. I am so glad I did.
As always ......... feel free to write me at
BabysGotKnees@yahoo.com if you have any other questions. I'll be happy to lend my support to those wanting to avoid the knife!
Baby'sGotKnees2008-08-03 21:02:32I just started prolotherapy and PRP for severe hip cartilage degen. Regular prolotherapy for the ligaments and tendons around the hip and PRP injections inside the hip joint. I've had 2 rounds of regular prolo already which is less painful then PRP. These ligaments and tendons feel better. I just had the first round of PRP in the hip which took me 3 days to recover from. The PRP might not start to have any impact until after 2 or 3 injections a month apart. Wondering if anyone else has had PRP in the hip?
Hi
I have recently started PRP on my knee which has osteoarthritis. Its practically bone on bone in there so I wanted to give this a try while I still had some cartilage left.
My Dr told me I should have one injection every week for 4-6 weeks. I asked if I needed to do anything special i.e. rest the knee afterwards, and he said to carry on as normal otherwise we wouldnt be able to tell to what extent it was working.When I asked what kind of success rate he had had he mentioned a woman with similar damage to mine , except in her ankle, who felt so good after a couple of injections she went for a run! That gave me a great deal of hope, but I remember reading somewhere that ankles respond better than knees.
I had my first injection about 3 weeks ago. After my first injection the knee felt a bit "full" and sore for a day or so, but after that there was dramatic improvement in my pain levels, compared to just before the injections. I was still feeling a little pain but the injection had definitely taken a rather large edge off it. The best part of all was that it wasnt spasming itself into a locked position when i slept and producing a lot of pain when I moved or turned over. I was, and still am having sleep that at least isnt interrupted several times a night by my knee.
That week though, I did nurse my knee somewhat and also had a bout of sinus which laid me up and kept me from exercising.
After the second injection, I had the same fullness and soreness etc. but I returned to normal life. However, the pain seems to have come back - not quite to the same extent as before - but it has been sore now for the last couple of weeks.
The pain is a bit of a disappointment as there was such a dramatic improvement after the first injection and I had high hopes. I Was wondering if anybody knew what I should be expecting. i.e. what is normal? I know most of you have said you have injections one month apart and mine are a lot more frequent. But should I at least have some improvement after 3 injections? Does this mean it's not going to work?
many thanks
What is most important is to allow a reasonable amount of time to determine if it will be effective. It is very important to continue to have open discussions with your doctor and have them help you decide if PRP is effective long term. It is also very important to continue to get regular physical activity under the supervision of your doctor.
I had a baby two years ago and have since had horrible pain in my hip, groin, and pubic symphysis. The doctor, obstetrician, and orthopedic surgeon could come up with no answers other than an eventual hip replacement (the arthritis is becoming dibilatating) and a metal plate in my pubic bone. My hip condition has been ongoing since childhood, I have snapping hip (stretched ligaments and it slips from its socket) causing years of wear and tear. The pubic bone ligaments never recovered from childbirth.
I discovered prolotherapy online since its not performed by medical doctors in British Columbia. A naturopath has done 4 of the 'sugar' injections with very little results but last week I had regeneration injection therarpy with my blood. I got my 0 worth of pain but the last two days the pain has subsided and something feels different. Does anyone know how long before you can tell if it works???
Its been over 6 months since I started PRP. I have had a number of injections. I dont think it has made much difference - the only thing I can say is that it makes the good days better BUT the good days are probaby only one in ten.
I started getting shots in the 'good' knee as it showed arthritic changes in the xray and it seems to have gotten worse. I dont know if the shots are doing some damage, or its just getting worse of its own accord and the shots are having no effect.
There is a lot of promising treatments out here with regenerative science taking off in a big way. The only thing is they are so slow to release any new treatments that I fear many of us will miss the boat and have to have irreversible surgery while they dilly dally.
Hi Everyone,
My team is doing another survey to learn more about Knee Osteoarthritis. If you have problems with Knee Osteoarthritis, we’d appreciate your help in answering these anonymous questions. You can find the survey here: www.ArthritisKneeStudy.com
Thank you!
Valerie
Hi there,
Glad to hear something is working for you....just wanted to let you know- there is a doctor in vancouver that is specializing in Prolotherapy - one of the top 2 pain management doctors in BC actually......(don't know if he just arrived)
I was just refered to him and I am on his waiting list (6 mo - 1 year) - been in chronic pain since '99 - was hit by a transport truck.....and I was not given his name...so when I get it- I will try and remember to post it for anyone who wants it!
Hi there,
Just wondering what your outcome has been like now that it has been two years since this post. If you get this message I would love to hear how you (or anyone else on this forum) are doing now in 2010.
I am a 44 year old long distance runner who has late stage chondromalacia patella as well with one surgery that did not have a good outcome. I have not been able to run for two years and have not been able to walk or go upstairs without pain for over a year. I am desperate for a solution. i am looking at prolotherapy.
Any intelligent insight from ANYONE is welcome and appreciated.
WOW! I tried Prolotherapy last year in one knee (bone on bone and a compression fracture) I was to have more sessions 5.00 each injection but due to having other tests that the ND ordered my total bill for the visit was 0.00 ouch! Could not afford to continue as I am not able to work yet.
I am pleased to hear good feedback, what a blessing to gain back mobility.
When finaces are better i will have Prolotheraphy again.
There is ND in Cumberland (Vancouver Island) that specializes in this modality his name is Dr. Kris Kind
Debi
In ALBERTAHi, there is N.D. in Cumberland B.C. that specializes in Prolotherapy his name is Kris Kind, i was able to have 1 treatment during a visit to the area but of course it takes more than 1 treatment. He is about 30min. from Campbell River.
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