Prolotherapy is a method of strengthening weakened, stretched and partially torn ligaments and tendons, enhancing the support systems of bones and muscles. These connective tissues are damaged as a consequence of injury or just wear and tear, resulting in altered structure and function. Pain often intervenes, and efforts to compensate for imbalances leads to further injury and impairment. Prolotherapy is a non-surgical approach that can strengthen backs, necks, arms and legs, eliminate pain and restore function.
Prolotherapy is very different from using steroids. Steroids actually weaken the tissues into which they are injected. They do not promote healing, but retard it. Continued use of steroids causes joints to become looser and more unstable. Prolotherapy has the opposite effect, strengthening joints and connective tissue. It may be effective even after surgery has been unsuccessful. Almost any area can be treated with prolotherapy. The most commonly treated locations are the knees, shoulders, lower back, hips, neck and elbows.
How it works
Concentrated dextrose, or sugar water, is combined with a pain-killer such as procaine, B vitamins, and saline, then injected into the involved ligament or tendon where the tissue meets the bone.
The whole process takes about three weeks. Ligaments and tendons thicken and tighten, re-establishing a proper alignment of the bones, and alleviating pain. The same areas can be reinjected every 2–4 weeks if necessary. If the problem is chronic, usually three or more injections are necessary to achieve a full effect.
Prolotherapy Combined with Ozone (Prolozone)
The involved area is injected using prolotherapy, and then with ozone—a modified form of oxygen (O3), produced from oxygen (O2)—through the same needle. It can effectively resolve pain and inflammation, and repair damaged areas without surgery. Prolozone injections may also resolve carpal tunnel syndrome, plantar fasciitis, Dupuytren’s contractures, and pain from scars
– D.T., Prolozone Patient
Our Highly Skilled Doctors
Allan Sosin is the founder and medical director of the Institute for Progressive Medicine. He received his medical degree from Northwestern University Medical School and is board-certified in both Internal Medicine and Nephrology—the study of kidney disease. Dr. Sosin is an expert in the use of natural approaches to replace drugs and surgery, including prolotherapy and ozone therapy. He has over forty-five years of clinical experience in treating patients with traditional therapies and thirty years of using alternative methods in combination with conventional medicine.
Martha Wittenberg, M.D.
Martha Wittenberg attended Drexel University in Philadelphia for her Master’s Degree in Public Health and her Medical Degree. She is a graduate of the Long Beach Memorial Family Medicine Program, and is Board-certified in Family Medicine. After being in private practice for many years, Dr. Wittenberg pursued additional training in holistic and integrative medicine. She is Board-certified by the American Academy of Anti-Aging and Regenerative Medicine, and completed a Fellowship in Metabolic and Nutrition Medicine through the Metabolic Medical Institute.
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