Dextrose Prolotherapy
Prolotherapy Gaining Popularity for Musculoskeletal Treatment
As athletes and sports medicine professionals continue to look for new and faster ways to speed the body’s natural healing process, new therapies continue to surface. One of the more recent alternative therapies is prolotherapy.
Prolotherapy is based on the theory that creating temporary inflammation in and around injured tissue facilitates the healing process. They key phrase is a “temporary” inflammation. Chronic inflammation hampers the healing process.
Prolotherapy Defined
The process involves injecting a “proliferant” solution (dextrose solution) and lidocaine (local anesthetic) into the injured area. The solution causes a temporary inflammatory state directly in the area of the injured tissue. This inflammatory state is normally a regular part of the healing process. So in effect, prolotherapy intentionally puts the area into a state of inflammation, thereby enhancing the healing process.
Although existing since the 1950s, prolotherapy has traditionally been considered an alternative medical procedure and has existed primarily outside of the mainstream of medicine. However, significant attention has been brought to this therapy over the last decade with an intentional goal of producing clinical research to document its effectiveness.
Although several websites exist to promote its efficacy (Prolotherapy Nashville), individuals need to look to solid clinical research to determine its effectiveness. Personal stories are not sufficient evidence for the effectiveness of any treatment.
Recent Research
Research studying the effectiveness of prolotherapy is currently being undertaken at several medical universities in the United States (Dr. Mark Johnson, Surgeon, Prolotherapy Nashville). Recent research has been published by reputable journals including the British Journal of Sports Medicine (July, 2009) and the American Journal of Sports Medicine (July 2008).
An article published in the American Journal of Sports Medicine (July, 2008) studied the healing responses of stretch-injured medical collateral ligaments (MCL) treated with prolotherapy in rats. Their results concluded that “dextrose injections increased the cross-sectional area of the MCLs compared with saline-injected and controls”.
This result would support the theory that dextrose prolotherapy increases the density of damaged ligaments in rats. Further research needs to be undertaken to substantiate the same results in humans.
Prolotherapy Research and Treating Lateral Epicondylitis
The British Journal of Sports Medicine recently published an article reviewing the effectiveness of prolotherapy (along with three other types of injection therapies) for lateral epicondylitis (inflammation of the outside of the elbow). This research substantiated that prolotherapy successfully decreased pain in patients with lateral epicondylitis. However, the sample size was small. The authors recommended more rigorous studies with larger sample sizes.
Another recent article (May, 2008) published in the well-respected journal, Clinical Journal of Sports Medicine, published a pilot study looking at the efficacy of prolotherapy for lateral epicondylitis. The authors concluded that dextrose prolotherapy was effective in decreasing pain and improving strength in patients diagnosed with lateral epicondylosis. This study used a double-blind controlled trial with 24 patients. They also noted no adverse effects from the therapy.
Prolotherapy Research Limited but Increasing
Good research is becoming available on the effectiveness of prolotherapy in treating several conditions including lateral epicondylitis. Although website advocates list a number of medical diagnoses in which prolotherapy can be used, individuals considering this treatment still need to carefully review the literature for quality research on their specific condition. If research is not available to support treatment for a specific condition, caution should be used.
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