Some of the most difficult-to-treat conditions involve joint or soft tissue pain. For example, low back pain is often related to soft tissue issues like muscle or ligament strain. Chronic low back pain is notoriously difficult to live with and to treat.
At Osteopathic Center for Healing, our providers, Neil Spiegel, DO, and Jennifer Gularson, PA-C, know that living with unresolved pain can make it difficult to reach your potential in any area of your life.
We practice functional medicine, which means we take into account your body as a whole, rather than simply treating your symptoms. We offer prolotherapy and have found that it provides results in many cases where nothing else has.
You may not have ever heard of prolotherapy. Most medical professionals aren’t trained in it, but we have the expertise and training to offer it as a service.
Prolotherapy is the injection of a mild irritant into an area of your body that needs to heal. Tendon injuries, osteoarthritis, low back pain, and whiplash, among many others, are examples of the types of injuries and issues that prolotherapy may help.
With prolotherapy, we inject a mild irritant into the problem area. The injection is placed very precisely.
Researchers don’t know exactly why the slight irritation of saline or sugar solution causes healing, but there are several theories. The irritation may simply trigger your immune system, which kicks into action and heals the injury.
When you have prolotherapy, you should expect to have a series of injections at set periods of time. We recommend how far apart your injections should be spaced depending on your specific issue.
In most cases, we use a topical anesthetic to ensure you’re comfortable during the injection. Following the injection, we may use ice or heat to help relieve any swelling or pain. The entire treatment usually takes around 30 minutes.
Since we inject an irritant into your injury, you may have some mild side effects. You may notice some stiffness and swelling after your injection, but it should resolve very quickly. Most people can return to their normal activities the day after an injection. All side effects should be gone within a week.
Prolotherapy can ease stiffness, lessen your pain, and help you rebuild strength and mobility. It may also contribute to stronger soft tissues. Most conditions require several injections over the course of the treatment, but you should begin noticing improvements after just the first one.
If you’re interested in learning more about prolotherapy and finding out if it could be a solution for your joint or soft tissue pain, schedule an appointment at Osteopathic Center for Healing in Rockville, Maryland.
