Ross Hauser, M.D.

I became fascinated with pain during my Physical Medicine residency. I began accumulating articles on bizarre pain syndromes and obtained quite a collection. What struck me most was the magnitude of the pain problem. It seemed as though everyone either had pain themselves or knew someone who was suffering from chronic pain. I also saw the lack of significant pain relief by modern treatments such as surgery, physical therapy, and anti-inflammatory medications.

It appeared that the longer people had pain, the less likely such treatments were going to help cure their chronic pain. Pain clinics and pain programs do help some people, but have a poor cure rate. Pain programs teach people to live with their pain. The psychological aspect of the pain is addressed, but in many cases the cause is not determined.
  

It appeared that the longer people had pain, the less likely such treatments were going to help cure their chronic pain. Pain clinics and pain programs do help some people, but have a poor cure rate. Pain programs teach people to live with their pain. The psychological aspect of the pain is addressed, but in many cases the cause is not determined.

Caring Medical & Rehabilitation Services, S.C. (CMRS) specializes in treating chronic pain and sports injuries, utilizing the comprehensive Hackett-Hemwall Prolotherapy technique. In conjunction with Prolotherapy, we founded The Hauser Diet Natural Medicine Program to maximize wellness and healing, and for those desiring to achieve optimal weight and energy.  

Located in beautiful Oak Park, Illinois, a nearby suburb of Chicago and established in 1991 by Ross Hauser, M.D., and Marion Hauser, M.S.,R.D., Caring Medical has developed into one of the largest Prolotherapy and Natural Medicine Clinics in the US. We are comprised of an experienced team of professionals who are very passionate about our work here at Caring Medical. Learn more about us

Prolotherapy Appointment Information
 

Prolotherapy and Knee Pain

Prolotherapy and Knee Pain In our opinion, before letting an arthroscope touch you, it is imperative to have an evaluation by a physician familiar with Prolotherapy (a non-surgical alternative.) Knee Injury and Cortisone In our opinion, the quickest way for an patient or athlete to lose strength at the ligament-bone junction (fibro-osseous junction) is to inject cortisone to that area. Cortisone and other steroid injections ALL have detrimental effects on articular cartilage.

Research Standard Clinical X-ray Studies Document Cartilage Regeneration in Five Degenerated Knees After Prolotherapy

Watch Dr. Hauser perform Prolotherapy to the knee

Articles Prolotherapy and Knee Replacement This is not too difficult to figure out just from the figures of the number of people needing joint replacement surgery as directly correlated to the number of people who are developing arthritis, which is directly related to the number of people who have received cortisone injections, arthroscopy, RICE treatment, and anti-inflammatory medications over the past 40 years. Knee Braces It is a familiar locker room ritual. The taping of ankles and knees to provide support and limit movement of an existing injury. Despite numerous medical studies confirming the ineffectiveness of taping, and in some cases, actually contributing to further injury, most continue to do it. Prolotherapy Regenerates Knee Cartilage all the surgery in the world cannot cause the new growth of healthy tendon and ligament tissue; at best, the pain may be alleviated, but for all the expense, risk, and trauma, the underlying cause of pain may never be addressed. Prolotherapy is a safe, simple, inexpensive, effective, and proven cure for chronic pain. Swimmer's Knee Injuries A study on the incidence of injuries to various parts of the musculoskeletal system of swimmers, and noticed that a high percentage of breaststroke swimmers complained of pain in the medial knee. PROLOTHERAPY AND ARTIFICIAL KNEES Yes, Prolotherapy can help people with artificial knees and hips, assuming the knees and hips are aligned in the proper position. Most of the pain after an artificial knee or hip relates to the structures around the joint.  Surgical Alternatives for the Knee Ligament The complications of orthopedic surgery on knee ligaments are significant and frequent. The ligament grafts are profoundly weakened about eight weeks after surgery. At this time their strength is about 10 percent of its initial strength! It is only 50 percent of initial strength after one year. In two to three years the grafts are at their strongest, and then, less than their initial strength.(1) Compare this to one study where ligament strength was measured after a six-week period of doing Prolotherapy on knee ligaments. Meniscal injury Articles - ACUTE MENISCAL TEAR FROM HIGH HEELS - ACUTE MENISCAL TEAR - Meniscal Injury and Prolotherapy - Bucket Handle Meniscus Tear ACL injury Articles - Estrogen and ACL Injuries - ACL TREATMENT OPTIONS - ACL Injury and Hormones - Cruciate Ligaments of the Knee: ACL, MCL and PCL Baker's Cyst and Prolotherapy A cyst is a fluid filled sac in any location of the body.  One of the more common areas where cysts occur is the back of the knee.  These cysts are called popliteal cysts or Baker's cysts.  Typically, damage within the knee causes swelling and the fluid is pumped from the knee to this fluid filled sac.  This creates swelling and sometimes pain in the back of the knee.  This may cause problems achieving full bending or full straightening of the knee. Ligament and Tendon Laxities Most athletic injuries involve strains and sprains to tendons and ligaments, respectively. A tendon attaches a muscle to the bone and involves movement of the joint. MCL This ligament on the medial aspect of the knee, the medial collateral ligament (MCL), is a commonly injured ligament. It is a broad thick band about four to six inches long. It has deep and superficial layers. This ligament is vulnerable to blows to the knee from the outside, which often occur in contact sports. CARTILAGE TRANSPLANT SURGERY Over my years of treating many knees, I have seen hundreds upon hundreds of people get Prolotherapy instead of knee replacement surgery or arthroscopic surgery. Do you realize that the amount of people in the United States who get arthroscopic surgery and/or knee replacement and other knee surgeries is about 1 million? Yes, one million people per year get knee surgeries in the United States! Knee Injuries in the Older Athlete Knee injury and pain is also quite common in the older athlete. Pain can be due to osteoarthritis of the knee joint, arthritis behind the patella (kneecap), sprain of the ligaments on the inner and outer part of the knee (medial and lateral collateral ligaments), and weakness of ligaments inside the knee (anterior and posterior cruciate ligaments). Prolotherapy and Knee Surgery Options - Prolotherapy & the Surgical Repaired Knee - Never Have Knee Surgery Based on an MRI - Healing Knee Injuries Without Surgery - KNEE ARTHROSCOPY FOR OSTEOARTHRITIS Prolotherapy, Diet and A Golfer's Knee JJ, a 46 year old female competitive league golfer, was first seen at Caring Medical in late 2006. She was 5’6”, 211 pounds with good muscle mass. She complained of her knees “giving out” along with having bilateral medial weakness, joint stiffness, pain and recurring edema with most leg exercises. Prolotherapy and Pes Anserinus Tendons The most common cause of knee pain is not ligament injury. (We realize that this is shocking, since we have been explaining in past newsletters that ligaments are normally the cause of chronic pain.) The most common cause of chronic knee pain is weakness in the pes anserinus tendons.     Knee Cap Patella Disorders & Prolotherapy When there is a problem with this part of the knee it manifests as pain in the front of the knee after strong exertion (running, walking, or stair climbing.) This may be due to erosion of the cartilage on the under side of the patella, poor tracking of the patella in its groove on the front of the knee, or an inflamed tendon on the lower edge of the patella.

Prolotherapy and Ankle Pain
Twisted Ankle
Acute ankle sprains are typically treated by immobilization, presumably to help the injured ligaments heal. Nothing could be further from the truth. Immobilization is the quickest way to cause a dramatic decline in ligament function and strength. Anti-inflammatory medications are often given after an acute injury, but should definitely be avoided during this time. Anti-inflammatory medication may actually prevent the body's own healing process from occurring.
 

Chronic Ankle Pain in a Female Athlete
Jenny had multiple signs, or symptoms, that confirmed this diagnosis such as non-healing sports injury with no overt trauma causing the original pain; multiple tender points in other parts of her body especially about the knees and hips; dry skin; brittle nails and hair; menstrual problems; improper diet for her metabolism; and finally, her taking synthetic estradiol.

Ankle Sprains
Ankle sprains are a common and often aggravating injury. Although most sprains are generally minor and heal quickly, a recent study conducted at the orthopedic department of the University of Basel Switzerland showed that in 20% to 40% of patients, sprains lead to chronic ankle instability, and that 70% to 80% of this patient subset eventually develops osteoarthritis in the affected ankle.

Ankle Fusion
It is common for Prolotherapists to see people with continued pain complaints after surgery. This is a very common occurrence in our office in Oak Park, Illinois. Often overlooked causes of this post-surgery pain are that the surgery itself may cause ligament injury or the surgery may not repair the ligament injury. When performing surgery, the ligaments are stretched and pulled in order to gain access to the joint.
 

Golf, Prolotherapy and Weak Ankles
Golfing could be defined, in a mechanical sense, as a coordinated movement between the upper body (torso, arms, and shoulders) and the lower body (feet, legs, and lower back). The most basic objective in this sport is control. Control the body segments, and you can control the physical impact and the end trajectory of the spherical object with dimples (the ball).
 

Chronic Lateral Ankle Instability
Most Ligament injuries do not totally heal. Even if the pain resolves, the ligament will not be as strong as it was prior to the injury. Since ligaments stabilize the joints, ligament injury then produces a loose joint. If the ligament never heals, chronic joint looseness or instability results.

Prolotherapy and Shoulder Pain


Frozen Shoulder
A frozen shoulder is also treatable with Prolotherapy, but healing occurs over a longer period of time. The term adhesive capsulitis refers to scar tissue that forms inside the joint due to lack of movement. If a joint is not moved through its full range of motion every day, scar tissue will form inside the joint. 

Prolotherapy and Shoulder Injuries
Shoulder injuries and pain are quite common in golfers, swimmers, and tennis players. Shoulder pain may be due to acute bursitis, also known as an inflammation of the gel-like cushion in the shoulder. This results in extreme pain in the upper arm and shoulder region. Pain may even extend down the arm and can be quite severe. 


Shoulder Arthritis
Arthritis does not affect the shoulder joint as often as it does large weight-bearing joints, such as the hip and knee. With the shoulder, there is usually a history of injury or trauma to the shoulder or previous surgery.

Shoulder Osteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis of the shoulder is characterized by the destruction of the protective cartilage in the joint with painful and restricted motion. There is usually a history of trauma to the shoulder or previous surgery. While plain x-rays can confirm the presence of osteoarthritis in the shoulder, the most common unseen culprit to the development of arthritis is chronic ligamentous laxity.


Is There a Place for Arthroscopy?
Arthroscopy is useful to repair complete ligament and tendon tears and also to shave bone like under the acromion when a person has an impingement syndrome in the shoulder when it doesn’t heal completely with Prolotherapy. The number of arthroscopies ever recommended at Caring Medical can probably be counted on one's hands. The number of arthroscopies that have been prevented is in the hundreds.

Rotator Cuff Tendonitis / Impingement Syndrome
Rotator cuff tendonitis occurs when the small muscles of the Rotator Cuff, the supraspinatus, infraspinatus, teres minor, and subscapularis, become strained causing weakness of these structures and subsequent tendonitis.

Rotator Cuff and Shoulder Pain
The most common cause of chronic shoulder pain is not shoulder instability but supraspinatus tendon weakness, also known as rotator cuff tendonitis. If full range of movement in the shoulder is compromised, the supraspinatus tendon works harder to provide the motion support needed.

SUPRASPINATOUS TENDINOSIS
I commonly see an MRI report that a patient brings in that is showing tendinosis. For someone who has tendinosis of a rotator cuff tendon, such as the supraspinatous tendon, or other tendons such as the Achilles tendon, the questions to ask are these...

Shoulder Dislocation
Shoulder dislocation occurs when a patient falls on an outstretched hand or when an anterior force to the shoulder occurs when the shoulder is abducted and externally rotated.

Shoulder Separations
The most common means of injury to the AC joint is a direct blow downward on the top, or point, of the shoulder.

SLAP Lesions and Prolotherapy
It is common for patients to walk into Caring Medical and say that their orthopedist told them that surgery was their only option. Patients are commonly told that surgery in the only option for such conditions as Meniscal Injury, advanced Osteoarthritis, labral tears of the hip and shoulder, and especially if they have a SLAP lesion.

SNAPPING SCAPULA SYNDROME
Snapping scapula syndrome, also known as scapulocostal syndrome or scapulothoracic syndrome, is characterized by a grating, grinding, popping or snapping sensation of the scapula onto the back side of the ribs or thoracic area of the spine.

Elbow Pain, Wrist Pain

Elbow Pain and Carpal Tunnel Syndrome 
Eighty percent of chronic elbow pain is due to a sprain of the annular ligament, a ligament rarely examined by a family physician or an orthopedic surgeon. Nearly all of our patients with chronic elbow pain tell us their doctors told them they have tennis elbow (lateral epicondylitis) and not a sprain of the annular ligament.

Elbow Ligament Injury
One of the most common sports injuries that is seen at Caring Medical in Oak Park, Illinois is elbow ligament laxity. By laxity, I mean, the ligament is no longer able to stabilize the elbow.

Ulnar Collateral Ligament
The ulnar collateral ligament supports the inside of the elbow and is a reason for most chronic medial elbow pains. the UCL is responsible for holding the ulnar bone to the distal end of the humerus. This enables the arm to flex, pivoting at the elbow.

Tennis Elbow, Golfer's Elbow Prolotherapy
The anatomical structures involved in tennis elbow (lateral epicondylitis) and golfer's elbow (medial epicondylitis) are structures located very close to the skin. Thus, being so close to the skin, traditional treatments such as physical therapy, heat, ultrasound, and massage should very quickly resolve the problems by greatly increasing the metabolic rate in the muscle attachments at these sites. However, because these conditions do not recover quickly, this tells us that the muscles are not the problem, but rather, the underlying ligaments.

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
It can be estimated that 5 million people have Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and that some 37 million people suffer from chronic wrist pain.

The Use of Elbow Braces
To think that putting a band around the elbow could do anything to help a physical condition is ludicrous. Wearing a brace actually has the potential to harm the injured area due to the compression exerted by the brace and by changing the biomechanics of motion from the compressive force.

Wrist Injury and Prolotherapy
The wrist is one of the most complicated areas of the musculoskeletal system.

Elbow Pain and Prolotherapy
Another common cause of chronic elbow pain is an ulnar collateral ligament sprain. This ligament supports the inside of the elbow. It is responsible for holding the ulnar bone to the distal end of the humerus. In other words it enables the arm to flex, pivoting at the elbow.

Tennis Elbow, Golfer's Elbow "Tommy John Surgery"
Some doctors will nearly always give a surgical option for the condition of elbow instability. Typically, the "Tommy John" surgery is offered. This involves taking a tendon from the wrist (palmaris longus tendon) and grafting this on the lateral or medial elbow, depending on which side is unstable.
 

Annular Ligament, The
Any kind of throwing motion, whether in javelin, baseball (especially the curve ball), bowling, or even lesser-known sports like hurling, puts tremendous force on this ligament.
 

Bilateral elbow tendinosis
Cynthia is a 45 year old formerly active woman who came to Caring Medical on April 18, 2006 with complaints of bilateral forearm and elbow pain. The pain in the left elbow was present since July 2004 and in the right elbow since February 2003.

Platelet Rich Plasma Prolotherapy

Prolotherapy with Platelet Rich Plasma for
Labrum and Menisci Degeneration and/or Tears
I can’t remember the last time a patient of ours had surgery for a torn meniscus or labrum. I know I have sent a few patients for surgery in the past, but it has been a long time. Prolotherapy works very well for labrum (hip and shoulder) and menisci degeneration and tears and even more so when platelet rich plasma (PRP) is added. So what is PRP and how does it work?

Platelet Rich Plasma Case History
Platelet Rich Plasma Turns the Tide
Prolotherapy - Platelet Rich Plasma Solution
PRP and bilateral elbow tendinosis

Prolotherapy and Rib Pain

Slipping Rib Syndrome
In many cases a rib slips out of place because the ligaments that hold the ribs to the sternum, the sternocostal ligaments, have been weakend. Without muscles to hold the ribs in place, weakened ligaments allow slipping of the rib. This in turn causes further stretching of the ligament, producing severe pain.

Prolotherapy for Rib Pain
Most people don't realize that a person has cartilage in their sternal (breast bone).  This cartilage is where the ribs connect to the sternum.  For people with chronic musculoskeletal chest pain that is reproducible by pressing on the painful spot, most of the time this spot is where the ribs connect to the sternum. 

Thoracic Outlet Syndome
The symptoms of TOS include: pain in the neck, shoulder, and arm; coldness in the hand; and numbness in the arm and hand. However, in severe cases of compression of the subclavian vessels, Raynaud’s phenomenon, claudication, thrombosis, and edema can occur in the involved extremity.
 

Prolotherapy Injections Articles - I Can't Have Injections! - How can Prolotherapy be made ‘painless’? - We Give Lots Of Shots

Soreness After Prolotherapy
A patient is generally sore for a couple of days after Prolotherapy. This is because the Prolotherapy injections have to go through some muscles to get to the ligaments and tendons.
 

A PROLOTHERAPY NIGHTMARE
A patient had significant lower back injury because she fell off of a horse. She tried numerous treatments without help. She finally heard about Prolotherapy she thought about coming to visit us in Oak Park, Illinois but decided to go to someone closer.
 

How Much Inflammation Should Prolotherapy Create?
There are actually two answers to this. The first one is obvious. You need enough inflammation to heal. Someone can heal after Prolotherapy with only a minimal inflammatory discomfort and someone else may have the whole area very tender, stiff and inflamed.
 

What's The Proof That The Prolotherapy Is Working?
This is a common question asked by people just about to receive Prolotherapy for the first time. Typically there are several variables that are looked at to make sure the Prolotherapy is achieving the results the person desires.
 

Obesity and Prolotherapy
When a person is overweight it puts extra strain on the joints, obviously. What this means is that the ligaments in an overweight person have to be stronger than in a normal weight person to support the person. 
 

Natural Medicine Techniques For Prolotherapy
Two case histories below explain many factors that contribute to the vicious cycle of chronic pain, non-healing injuries, and connective tissue deficiency.
 

MISCELLANEOUS
Prolotherapy and Fibromyalgia
Chronic Pain
Dysautonomic Polyneuropathy
What is the Effect of Aging on Healing?
Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy
Pseudogout
Hand and Finger Injuries
Myofascial Pain Syndrome
Overmanipulation Syndrome
Prolotherapy in the news
Sports Injuries in the Older Athlete

Prolotherapy and Back Pain
Watch Dr. Hauser perform
Prolotherapy to the low back


Watch Dr. Hauser do
Prolotherapy to the thoracic spine

Arachnoiditis
Arachnoiditis is typically diagnosed in someone who has undergone back surgery and still suffers severe back pain that radiates down the legs and often to the feet. The pain has a persistent burning, stinging, or aching quality. The diagnosis is occasionally made when similar symptoms are felt in the neck, arms, or the mid back with radiation into the chest. This pain is typically unresponsive to pain medications and muscle relaxants.

Ankylosing Spondylitis
It is an accepted fact in the medical literature that an individual who presents with four out of the following five symptoms, without having any trauma to the lower back, has an 80 percent chance of having the diagnosis of ankylosing spondylitis

Low Back Pain and Prolotherapy
The first step in determining ligament laxity or instability in the lower back is by physical examination. The examination involves maneuvering the patient into various stretched positions. If weak ligaments exist, the stressor maneuver will cause pain. Do this simple test at home:

Scoliosis and Prolotherapy
Scoliosis is a lateral curvature of the spine of 11 degrees or more. An estimated 500,000 adults in the United States have scoliosis. Scoliosis is usually discovered during adolescence and is called idiopathic scoliosis, a fancy term meaning the doctor has no idea what caused the scolios.

Spinal Stenosis and Prolotherapy
People generally question us when we tell them that Prolotherapy can help relieve the pain of spinal stenosis, yet, the answer to their questions can be found in the following five facts.
 

Spinal Cord Stimulators
“Can I get Prolotherapy if I have a spinal cord stimulator?” This is a question I get asked once or twice a year.

Mal-rotation C1 vertebrae Prolotherapy
Numerous patients over the years have come in with what I term “C1 Syndrome.”  I am sure it is called something else in chiropractic and osteopathic literature, but regardless of the name, it is a condition caused by mal-rotation of the C1 vertebrae.

MRIs, Herniated Discs, Prolotherapy
It is prudent for a patient to consider why he or she is getting an MRI. If a patient wants to get surgery then go ahead and get an MRI. There is almost no other reason to get one. MRI’s cannot tell a person what is causing their pain, it only confirms what is known by the history and physical examination.

Radiofrequency denervation
Radiofrequency denervation of nerves for low back pain is becoming more and more of an accepted treatment. In my experience very few people receive long term relief with this therapy. In addition, this therapy makes absolutely no sense to me.  Let's see if it makes sense to you.

BACK PAIN-WHAT'S THE DIAGNOSIS?
People are confused because doctors, most commonly orthopedic surgeons, give them diagnoses that they do not understand. In one study, 51 surgeons were asked to give the four most common diagnoses used for patients with low back pain and a total of 50 different terms were used.

Facet Syndrome
Chronic low back pain is the most common complaint seen at pain clinics. Typically people with chronic low back pain show degenerative changes in their vertebrae on x-rays. When the pain is primarily located at a specific attachment of two vertebrae, which is the facet joint, the person is said to have facet syndrome.

Loose Ligaments and Back Pain
When back pain is due to loose ligaments, a very characteristic behavior of pain is observed. A patient with loose ligaments of the lumbar spine or pelvis will experience recurring dysfunctions at the intervertebral joint (degenerative disc and possible nerve compression), at the facet joints (locking in flexion or extension), and at the sacroiliac joints. In other words, the low back pain can be due to an unstable disc problem, facet joint locking, or sacroiliac dysfunction.

Women, Back Pain and Hormones
During pregnancy, a woman's body secretes a hormone called relaxin which causes ligaments to loosen in preperation for birth. Ligament laxity is normal during pregnancy.

ARTIFICIAL SPINAL DISK
The 11-02-2004 edition of The Wall Street Journal ran an article on Johnson and Johnson’s newly approved artificial spinal disk. Once an adequate number of surgeons is trained (it is a very technically difficult operation), the procedure will be offered as the new alternative to fusion operations in the treatment of degenerative disc disease.

Sacroiliac Pain
I never get tired of hearing from patients who have experienced alleviation of their chronic pain by receiving Prolotherapy. On a follow up with a particular patient, the patient told our staff he felt so much better that he wouldn't need to be coming back into the office anytime soon.

Tarlov Cysts
The key to deciding about treatment of these cysts is to be certain the cyst is the cause of the symptoms. Before deciding on intervention the symptoms should be serious enough that their treatment is indicated.

Compression Fractures
Do you suppose that the traumatic force that was of such magnitude that it caused a fracture may have injured some other structures as well?  You bet it did!  It probably injured the spinal ligaments.

Prolotherapy gets Triathlete with Spondylolisthesis
gets back to racing
I am writing this letter to you a little late since you treated me in September 2006 for 'spondyloisthesis of L4/L5. Since treating me I have gone on to walk 2 - 4 miles nearly every day, swim, bike, spin bike and complete the 'Danskin' triathlon in August 2007. You have given me my life back since I did all these things before my back issues showed up.
 

Prolotherapy and Hip Pain