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Connective Tissue Healing with Prolotherapy Injection
Prolotherapy injections stimulate the body to repair painful areas. It starts the normal inflammatory healing reaction, but the body’s immune system must respond and grow the collagen that is necessary to repair the injured ligaments, tendons, or cartilage. If a person has lost the ability to heal, the Prolotherapy results will not be optimal. This person is said to have connective tissue deficiency, defined as a disorder characterized by a weakening of the connective tissues and a deficiency in the amount, strength, or functioning of the connective tissues leading to a myriad of painful and chronic symptoms. Since there are many factors that affect connective tissue healing, the condition may have many causes. (See Figure 9.)
| Factors
Affecting Healing of
Connective Tissues |
| Age |
Overall health status |
| Blood Supply |
pH and lactate concentration |
| Degree of hypoxia (systemic and local) |
Pharmacological agents (drugs) |
| Dietary intake |
Psychological influences (placebo
effects and psychoneuroimmunological
links) |
| Electrical fields |
Severity of injury |
| Growth factors, cytokines, eicosanoids |
Structural (physical) deformities |
| Hormonal influences |
Temperature |
| Mechanical load forces |
Timing and return to physical activity |
Metabolic and cell turnover rates of
connective tissue |
Type of injury |
| Mobility (local & whole body) |
Type of onset (acute or chronic) |
| Muscular strength and forces |
Type of tissue(s) affected |
| Nutritional status |
Underlying disease processes |
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Figure
9: Connective tissue deficiency has many causes.
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Traditional Treatments for Chronic Pain
The cause of the connective tissue deficiency is very often due to the actual traditional treatment the person received, including NSAIDs and cortisone shots. Other common causes include nutritional factors and hormone deficiencies.
Dr. Hauser has written and published research editorials in the Journal of Prolotherapy regarding some of these therapies. The articles include “The Acceleration of Articular Cartilage Degeneration in Osteoarthritis by Nonsteroidal Anti-inflammatory Drugs” and “Deterioration of Articular Cartilage in Osteoarthritis by Corticosteroid Injections."
Hormones for Connective Tissue Repair
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| Figure
10: Collagen
synthesis is inhibited by increased estradiol levels. |
Women are much more likely than men to suffer from the effects of connective tissue deficiency, and thus chronic pain, because of their high estrogen levels, which inhibit collagen synthesis. (See figure 10.) When tested at Caring Medical in Oak Park, Illinois, most people with chronic pain are found to have low levels of hormones, such as Growth Hormone, testosterone, DHEA, and progesterone, all of which are necessary for connective tissue health and healing. For the person with a suspected systemic connective tissue deficiency problem, we recommend a formal evaluation by a doctor who not only does Prolotherapy, but natural medicine as well.
In this video, Dr. Ross Hauser discusses his experience treating women with Prolotherapy and Natural Medicine treatments for chronic pain.
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