Hip Pain Success with Prolotherapy
Patient with Chronic Hip Pain is Back to Pain-Free Walking without Cane after 4 Treatments
 AR is a 69-year-old woman who came to see Dr. Hauser in August 2011 complaining of debilitating hip pain. AR initially injured her hip in her early twenties during a motor vehicle accident. Her hip recovered but her problems returned 25 years after the accident. She dealt with the pain for close to 15 years but over the past two years AR reported that her hip pain and functioning had become progressively worse and she frequently required a cane in order to walk.
Diagnosis:
Dr. Hauser performed a physical exam of AR’s hip and diagnosed her with hip joint instability. Joint instability is caused by ligament or other soft tissue injury within the joint. Ligaments connect two or more bones and function to provide joint stabilization during normal range of motion and at rest. Most likely, AR sustained one or more ligament injuries to her hip during the motor vehicle accident and/or at some other point during her life. Ligaments can heal independently over a period of months to years, but research has shown that healed ligaments are ultimately weaker and more lax than normal ligaments. The persisting laxity and weakness of the injured ligament prevents the structure from properly supporting the joint during normal motion or daily activities. The resulting joint instability will cause degeneration of other structures within the joint over time, eventually lead to osteoarthritis of the affected joint. AR’s hip became progressively worse over the years because her hip joint was unstable. This instability led to irregular transmission of forces in and around her hip joint and over time caused damage to other structures of the joint resulting in increased pain and decreased mobility.
Prolotherapy Treatments:
AR felt pain primarily in the lateral aspect of her hip and the pain radiated down the lateral aspect of her entire leg to her ankle. Dr. Hauser determined that AR was a good candidate for Prolotherapy and he estimated she would need 3-7 treatments at monthly intervals to regenerate the structures of her hip and eliminate her pain and disability. When AR returned for her second treatment a month later, she reported that she had already noticed improvements after one treatment: her pain level intensity had decreased, the pain was only radiating down to her knee (rather than her entire leg), she was no longer using her cane, and people around her were commenting that she appeared to be walking better. AR had two more Prolotherapy treatments in the following months and after three treatments, she reported that her hip was 70% better and she no longer experienced constant pain, just moderate stiffness in her hip. She was also thrilled to report that she could lie on her side to sleep at night; something she hadn’t been able to do in months due to hip pain. At her last treatment in November, Dr. Hauser had thought that AR might only need 1-2 more treatments. However, two months after that appointment, we received the following email update from the patient, titled “Freedom to Walk”, along with a picture:
Dear Dr. Hauser, After four treatments I feel younger than my 69 years. Here I am briskly walking on the beach in Solano California and enjoying the freedom from hip pain that had become crippling, often requiring a cane to be mobile. Thank you for giving me back the freedom to move through life pain free, and the ability to take better care of myself. Kindest Thoughts, AR
ARs story is similar to that of many chronic pain patients that we see here at Caring Medical on a daily basis. Patients often come to see us with a long history of chronic and progressively disabling pain, after trying a multitude of other treatments and therapies. Dr. Hauser has been using Prolotherapy to treat patients with chronic joint pain and instability for the past 20 years. Prolotherapy addresses the underlying cause of joint degeneration, which is joint instability caused by ligament, tendon, or other soft tissue injury within the joint. Prolotherapy causes ligaments to become thicker and stronger and it also stimulates the healing of any other injured or damaged tissues within a joint, such as cartilage, thereby reversing the osteoarthritic process. If you or someone you know has been suffering with joint instability, chronic pain, and/or osteoarthritis, contact us today at 708-848-7789 to set up an appointment.
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