Prolotherapy

Prolotherapy represents an efficacious therapeutic strategy for chronic ligament and joint pain. Incomplete healing of connective tissue injuries often leads to persistent pain, significantly impairing patients’ quality of life. Developed in the 1930s in the United States, prolotherapy involves the precise administration of a concentrated glucose and local anaesthetic solution into damaged ligaments and joints. This elicits a cascade of physiological responses, including local inflammation and the release of endogenous growth factors, ultimately leading to the proliferation of fibrous tissues and cartilage regeneration. By mitigating local nerve sensitisation, prolotherapy provides a viable alternative to more invasive surgical interventions.

The treatment comprises a series of injections at 2- to 4-week intervals targeting tender areas on joints and ligaments. Patients typically experience temporary alleviation of pain following injection due to the local anaesthetic’s numbing effect, soon followed by a short-lived moderate increase in local tenderness, as prolotherapy stimulates healing inflammation.

Improvement is cumulative, with steady progress seen after each successive treatment. Prolotherapy’s broad therapeutic benefits extend to a variety of conditions, including TMJ pain, neck and back pain, shoulder injuries, and knee pain, making it an indispensable medical modality for restoring strength and integrity to damaged tissues.