Video Transcription

Where exactly do I give Prolotherapy injections?

Well, the most important place to give Prolotherapy injections is where the injured structure attaches to the bone. If you have a supraspinatus or a rotator cuff tear then you have to do Prolotherapy right where that tear attaches to the bone. Almost all Prolotherapy injections are done right where the ligaments and tendons attach to the bone. If somebody has a degenerated joint, of course we are going to inject the solution right into the joint. However, almost every Prolotherapy injection is done right down to the bone.

Do Prolotherapy injections hurt?

I don’t care what doctor you go to, injections hurt. What I tell folks who I treat is the worst case scenario is that a knee injection probably takes two minutes, a low back Prolotherapy treatment probably takes five minutes. The worst case scenario is only two minutes, three minutes, or four minutes. In the office here we have creams that we can put on the skin that numb the skin. Somebody can take a pain medication or a Xanax and get a little bit loopy before they get Prolotherapy. They can take Ultram or Tylenol as pain relief before they get Prolotherapy, or if someone wants to, they can receive conscious sedation in the office. We can give them Versed and Demerol. There have been times where I, myself, because of how much pain I was having because of an injury, have had Demerol just to get through the treatments. Most people, 90-95%, who come to get Prolotherapy here in the office don’t need any medication to get Prolotherapy. Honestly, most people, we treat them and they go right back to work. So, yeah it hurts. Yeah you’re going to be stiff. We do put heat on the area right after Prolotherapy but most people can go right back to work. You’re just a little bit stuff and often people say that it’s a “good kind of stiffness,” much like you would get after a good workout. When you have a good workout, you’re body is stiff, but it’s kind of nice, knowing that you’ve really had some tissue damage but that tissue damage is going to get you healthier, stronger, faster, so it’s a good thing.