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WOMAN'S
WORLD,
5/23/00 -- Barbara Tunick
Prolotherapy
For Chronic Pain
If
there's one good thing about having a bad
headache or backache, it's that the
pain is temporary. Pop a pill or get a good or get a good night's
sleep, and
you can reasonably assume the problem will clear up. Or will it?
Statistics
show 86 million Americans experience pain almost every day, due to
arthritis
or chronic conditions like
sciatica. And doctors estimate tens of millions
more will join in the decades to come.
But
now a new treatment has emerged that could end it forever. Called Prolotherapy,
it involves injecting a special solution right where the pain starts. "
It's a mixture of natural substances that stimulates the body's healing
process", explains
Ross Hauser, M.D., author of Prolo
Your Pain Away. And in clinical studies, it has partially or
completely relieved pain for as many as 93% of chronic sufferers.
Here's
everything you need to know about it:
How
it works:
"The underlying cause of most
chronic pain is unstable
ligaments,"
explains pain specialist Barry Beaty, D.O. Ligaments that have deteriorated
over time can't properly stabilize the bones they connect, which sets up a
chain reaction that triggers pain signals.
The
substance used in Prolotherapy prompt the production of
collagen, which
repairs and reinforces ligaments and
cartilage and builds stronger joints. The
result: "Pain relief -and improved function and flexibility ", says
Dr. Hauser.
Whom
it helps:
Researchers report that Prolotherapy can slash chronic back pain in half, and
studies suggest it cuts the pain of
knee
arthritis 44%. "But it also
relieves other types of arthritis as well as
migraine headaches and chronic
tension
headaches," Dr. Hauser says, "by correcting weak ligaments in the
neck that trigger painful spasms."
What's
it like:
"The needles are very thin, similar to acupuncture needles, and a local
anesthetic is used to numb the injection site," Dr. Hauser explains. Each
treatment takes five to 10 minutes, and can be up to six weeks apart.
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Prolotherapy
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POWER
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