Caring Medical
& Rehabilitation Services
715 Lake Street, Suite 600
Oak Park, Illinois 60301
708.848.7789 Phone
708.848.7763 Fax

Prolotherapy-Thoracic Spine Surgery

Prolotherapy: An Alternative to Thoracic Spine Surgery
Ross Hauser, M.D.

Fusion operations are serious business. As more and more people research these surgeries on the internet it becomes increasing clear that fusion operations don't eliminate pain. I surely get a tainted view because I see all of the failures, but I have never met one person who said it eliminated all of their pain.

Fusion operations supposedly stabilize unstable segments. So if a person gets a fusion operation at say T2-T4, the segments above and below this level are prone to getting advanced degenerative arthritis because all of the movement in this area of the spine have to come from there (because T2-T4 can't move). For people who have been proposed a thoracic spine surgery option, Prolotherapy should be looked into.

Typically people who have herniated discs or degenerated discs in the thoracic spine do not have life-threatening conditions or impending spinal cord injury. For these folks, Prolotherapy can help reduce or eliminate their pain without surgery. Prolotherapy by getting at the root cause of the condition, helps eliminate their pain. For those who have spinal cord injury or other signs of nerve irritation surgery may be the only option.

Typically the pain in the thoracic spine is coming from a weakened ligament that allows subluxation of the thoracic spine or subluxation of a rib that attaches to the thoracic spine. The later condition is also known as slipping rib syndrome. Surely chiropractic manipulation can be tried and if the condition recurs, an evaluation by a Prolotherapist is warranted. Typically about six sessions of Prolotherapy are warranted. The thoracic spine often heals slower than other areas of the body because it is never at rest. Even during sleep the thoracic spine continues to move, so it heals slower even with Prolotherapy. Typically 3 to 6 sessions of Prolotherapy are needed, but for thoracic spine conditions it is more like 5-8 session.