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PROLOTHERAPY
AND TENDINOSIS
Ross Hauser, M.D.
Do you want to know the end result of a
person treating their pain with
rest, ice,
bracing, immobility,
anti-inflammatory medications and
Steroid injections?
Tendinosis, or at least some type of degeneration. It is amazing to me
that very few people receive the diagnosis of tendinosis. Do you know
why? It is because the body has tremendous regenerative capabilities. So
while traditional medicine practices continue to inhibit the normal
healing
inflammatory
reaction with ice, rest, anti-inflammatories, and
cortisone shots,
the body often still finds a way to rid itself of pain. But mark my
words, if you continue to use anti-inflammatory medications, at some
point your body will degenerate. Degeneration will occur because you are
stopping the normal inflammatory reaction. It may not be tendinosis, but
you will be left with a degenerated joint.
The final stage of tendon degeneration is
called tendinosis. Tendinosis means tendon degeneration. We do
not have such a term for ligament degeneration, but if you have been
told you have chronic instability of a joint, most likely you have end
stage ligament degeneration. Have you been told you have severe back,
neck, shoulder, knee, hip, or ankle arthritis? Maybe you have been told
you have “bone on bone” or you are close to getting it? If so then you
have end stage joint degeneration. The mechanism by which all of these
types of things occur is basically the same: traditional
anti-inflammatory treatments.
Yes, anti-inflammatory medications and
specific steroid or
cortisone injections and its buddies, accelerate the
degeneration of such structures as
lligaments,
tendons, and joints! The long term effect of these medications is
tendon, ligament and joint degeneration. Tendon degeneration is called
tendinosis. Some of the more common areas of tendinosis occur in the
Achilles and
elbow (extensor tendons). Under a microscope, tendinosis
appears as lipoid or mucoid degeneration within the tendon with
fibrinoid necrosis and discontinuity of tendon fibers. Microscopically,
attempted healing is suggested by the presence of histiocytes and
capillaries. Why again did the tendon not heal? Correct, because you
kept icing the area, taking anti-inflammatory medications, and getting
cortisone shots. The exercise you were doing during this time didn’t
help like you thought it would.
What are you to do?
If you consult with an orthopedic surgeon, he/she will most likely
recommend surgery. The tendinosis is removed and tendon is then
sutured back to its origin or insertion site. With good rehabilitation
there is a chance that in six to nine months you might be exercising
again. Wow! That’s a long time to be side-lined, you think. Yes, it
surely is! But is there a better way?
For over fifteen years, I have been treating people with tendinosis with
Prolotherapy. Step one is to have them stop taking anti-inflammatories
and to take supplements to aid in healing. I also do things to put their
physiology in an anabolic state (growth). I do blood hormone testing and
may get the person on some hormones such as
human growth
hormone (HGH),
DHEA,
or
Testosterone depending on the results. I may also use human growth
hormone in the
Prolotherapy solutions
to aid in the repair of the degenerated tendon. Typically tendinosis is
treated every two to three weeks for three to four visits. Often six
visits are needed for the tendon to feel strong again and achieve full
repair.
While a patient is undergoing Prolotherapy, he/she is still exercising,
but the exercise must not be something that causes pain in the area.
Movement is good for healing, as it increases blood flow to the area.
Prolotherapy is a great alternative treatment for tendinosis. However, I
encourage you to first and foremost stop doing things that cause you to
get tendinosis in the first place. If you have pain from a degenerative
condition, taking NSAID’s or getting cortisone shots is a bad idea.
Taking anti-inflammatory medications such as
Motrin or
ibuprofen is a
bad idea. Putting ice on an injury is a bad idea. All these treatments
do is stop healing and increase the chances that your tendons,
ligaments, and joints will become degenerated. The end stage of these
conditions is called tendinosis (tendons), chronic instability
(ligaments) and bone on bone phenomenon (joint).
I believe Prolotherapy is the best
treatment for these conditions because it helps rebuild the degenerated
tendons, ligaments, and joints. Prolotherapy stimulates the body to
repair painful areas such as tendons, ligaments, and joints.
Prolotherapy stimulates the normal inflammatory healing reactions. Thus,
a condition of tendinosis is temporarily changed to a
tendonitis, with
the long term goal being a normal strengthened tendon. A person with the
diagnosis of tendinosis should expect to get at least six sessions of
Prolotherapy. As discussed above healing is maximized by proper
diet,
supplements, and gentle exercise. So if you have been told that you have
tendinosis or degenerative arthritis, first stop doing things that
accelerate the process, then take a trip to Oak Park, Illinois to your
local Prolotherapy doctor.
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