Prolotherapy for Buttock Pain

Buttock pain is literally a pain felt in the posterior. Since many of us have sedentary jobs and buttocks that may just be a few sizes too big, the soft tissue surrounding the ischial tuberosity bones is compressed. The ischial tuberosity is the swollen part or broadening of the bone in the frontal portion of the ischium, the lowest of the three major bones that make up each half of the pelvis. As the point of fusion of the ischium and the pubis, it is attached to various muscles and supports the weight of the body when one is sitting.

How does buttock pain develop?

When we sit down, our buttocks usually rest on the ischial tuberosity. The most common cause of pain at the cheek line in the buttock area is weakness in the structures that attack to the ischial tuberosity. Buttock pain and tenderness over the ischial tuberosity is known in traditional medical lingo as ischial bursitis. Bursitis is an inflammation of the bursa, the fluid-filled sacs that allow tendons and muscles to glide over the bones. True bursitis is not only extremely rare, but also so painful that any pressure on the involved bursa would have the affected individual literally “hit the ceiling.” In other words, most buttock pain is not true bursisits but, rather, is due to a ligament injury and/or weakness in the area.

What are the symptoms of buttock pain?

The symptoms of buttock pain are, plain and simple, “a pain in the butt.” Pain on the bottom of the buttock, especially when sitting, and possibly also while running, is typical. The pain may be achey, sore, stiff, dull, tight, throbbing or any combination of the above. The area may also be tender and sensitive to touch. Simple tasks such as putting on one’s socks may seem monumental. In extreme cases, sleep may be disturbed. Pain may also radiate from the buttock into the posterior leg. Buttock pain is worse first thing in the morning and/or increases as the day progresses.

When modern medicine cannot cure Buttock Pain

Typical modern medical treatment for buttock pain involves a number of therapies, including stretching exercises, avoiding prolonged sitting, icing and over-the-counter pain medications. The problem with all these approaches is that their affects are almost always temporary because they do not address the root of the problem. For example, icing, which is a typical treatment for painful injuries, will actually decrease the metabolic rate or blood supply to the area and profoundly delay healing. In other words, it does nothing to repair the weakened or injured ligaments involved and, thus, does not alleviate the chronic pain that people with this condition experience.

Another standard practice of modern medicine is to prescribe anti-inflammatory medications. However, in the long run, this does more damage than good. Although anti-inflammatory drugs have been shown to produce short-term pain benefit, they result in long-term loss of function and even more chronic pain by actually inhibiting the healing process of soft tissues, just as the practice of icing does. Plus, long-term use of these drugs can lead to other sources of chronic pain, allergies and leaky gut syndrome.

Traditional physicians will often misdiagnose buttock pain as bursitis (a very painful condition, which is extremely rare). Thus, to alleviate the inflammation they will recommend a cortisone shot. Cortisone and other steroid shots have adverse affects on bone, cartilage and soft tissue healing. Unfortunately, many people suffering from chronic pain look for quick relief without thinking about the long-term, potentially harmful side effects that could occur. The problem with cortisone is that, although immediate pain relief is possible, it inhibits nearly every aspect of healing, making the pain condition even worse!

Prolotherapy – the regenerative medicine approach to Buttock Pain

A better approach to relieving buttock pain is to strengthen the area of the ischial tuberosity with Prolotherapy. Injections are given along the ischial tuberosity, where the hamstring muscles and the sacrotuberous ligaments attach, an area rarely examined by a traditional physician. The sacroiliac joint, another source of buttock pain, may also be a site of Prolotherapy treatment. In our experience, four Prolotherapy treatment sessions usually eliminate the pain.

Chronic pain is most commonly due to tendon or ligament weakness, as is the case with buttock pain, or cartilage deterioration. The safest and most effective natural medicine treatment for repairing tendon, ligament and cartilage damage is Prolotherapy. In simple terms, Prolotherapy stimulates the body to repair painful areas. It does so by inducing a mild inflammatory reaction in the weakened ligaments. Since the body heals by inflammation, Prolotherapy stimulates healing.

Prolotherapy offers the most curative results in treating chronic pain. It effectively eliminates pain because it attacks the source: the fibro-osseous junction, an area rich in sensory nerves. What’s more, the tissue strengthening and pain relief stimulated by Prolotherapy is permanent!

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