Prolotherapy

Other Names : proliferation therapy, regenerative injection therapy, proliferative injection therapy
It involves injecting an otherwise non-pharmacological and non-active irritant solution into the body, generally in the region of tendons or ligaments for the purpose of strengthening weakened connective tissue and alleviating musculoskeletal pain. The injected substances themselves don’t heal, but rather stimulate cell growth in the tissues that stabilize weakened joints, cartilage, ligaments, and tendons.
Don't confuse with Neural Therapy :

• Prolotherapy is an injection technique that stimulates the body to grow stronger ligaments, tendons, muscles, and joint tissue. It is also helpful at eliminating the pain of conditions such as arthritis, migraines, back pain, fibromyalgia, headaches, and many other painful conditions.
• Neural Therapy works at relieving pain by eliminating interference fields and helping the autonomic nervous system function normally. The two therapies are best used together when there are both musculoskeletal and autonomic nervous system problems involved in chronic pain
  See also : Prolozone Therapy

Special Precautions of Prolotherapy

• Patients receiving prolotherapy injections have reported generally mild side effects including: mild pain and irritation at the injection site (often within 72 hours of the injection), numbness at the injection site, or mild bleeding. Pain from prolotherapy injections is temporary and is often treated with acetaminophen or in rare cases opioid medications; NSAIDs are not usually recommended, but are occasionally used in patients with pain refractory to other methods of pain control. Theoretical adverse events of prolotherapy injection include lightheadedness, allergic reactions to the agent used, infection, or nerve damage. However, allergic reactions to sodium morrhuate are rare. Rare cases of back pain, neck pain, spinal cord irritation, pneumothorax, and disc injury have been reported at a rate comparable to that of other spinal injection procedures.
• Contraindications : Contraindications for patients to receive prolotherapy injections may include:
  • Local abscess
  • Bleeding disorders
  • Patient on anticoagulant medication
  • Known allergy to prolotherapy agent
  • Acute infections such as cellulitis
  • Septic arthritis
  • Acute gouty arthritis
  • Acute fracture

Benefits and uses of Prolotherapy are

• Low back pain
• Knee osteoarthritis
• Achilles tendinopathy
• Shoulder dislocation
• Neck strain
• Sacroiliac joint dysfunction
• Costochondritis
• Lateral epicondylitis
• Fibromyalgia
• Pain from whiplash injury
• Plantar fasciitis