Journal of Prolotherapy
This is a summary review of the December 2021 paper Lumbar instability as an etiology of low back pain and its treatment by prolotherapy: A review in the Journal of Back and Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation. (1) The full free text version article can be found here at IOS press BACKGROUND: Low back pain is a significant spinal disorder that affects more »
Chondromalacia patella is a musculoskeletal pain disorder in which degeneration of cartilage underneath the patella can induce symptoms of pain, stiffness, and crepitus. If left untreated, it can often lead to knee osteoarthritis. Current treatments for chondromalacia patella (physical therapy, NSAIDs, etc.) are often ineffective and sometimes detrimental to the health of the knee. A proposed, alternative treatment currently provided to some patients is Prolotherapy, an injection technique used to stimulate the growth of new cells, including connective tissue.
In this clinical case, a 57-year-old white female afflicted with rheumatoid arthritis received treatment for a 35-degree interphalangeal (IP) thumb joint deviation. The thumb deviation clinically described as a boutonniere (French for buttonhole) deformity was treated with a combination of Prolotherapy and splinting. She wore a custom three-point splint for six weeks and received three separate Prolotherapy treatments within that six-week period. After treatment, the deviation decreased from 35 degrees to 10 degrees, and her thumb pain decreased from 7 to 1 on a pain scale of 10 as the highest level.
By Ross A. Hauser, MD, Havil S. Maddela, BS, Donna Alderman, DO, Gunter Baehnisch, MD, Robert Banner, MD, Peter J. Blakemore, DO, José Eleazar Calderón, MD, Gary B. Clark, MD, Mark DeLaurentis, MD, Shaun Fauley, DVM, Jörn Funck, MD, Babette Gladstein, VMD,Mark L. Johnson, MD, FACS, George H. Kramer, MD, John Neustadt, ND, Joan Resk, DO, JD, José Hector Salazar, MD, Garret Swetlikoff, ND, Rodney S. Van Pelt, MD, & Mark T. Wheaton, MD more »
By Ross A. Hauser, MD & Sherman O. Canapp Jr., DVM, MS, CCRT Dr. Canapp and assistant assessing a patient. Hauser: Dr. Canapp, as many of our readers know, another name for Prolotherapy is regenerative injection therapy. Could you tell us how you ended up getting interested in regenerative stem cell therapy? Canapp: I came across it in two different more »
By Ross A. Hauser, MD At the American Osteopathic Association of Prolotherapy Integrative Pain Management (AOAPIPM) meeting, April 7th-10th, in Naples, Florida, Donna Alderman, DO introduced the topic of Stem Cell Prolotherapy. The technique she utilizes was developed with the help of Robert W. Alexander, MD and involves the use of autologous adipose tissue as a source of more »
By Ross A. Hauser, MD While most physicians and lay people know terms such as the anterior cruciate and posterior cruciate signify ligaments of the knee, most are not as familiar with the term arcuate ligament. The arcuate ligament is a Y-shaped condensation of collagen fibers that courses from the fibular head, over the popliteus to more »
By Ross A. Hauser, MD & Hilary J. Phillips ABSTRACT Joint hypermobility syndrome (JHS) and Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS) are both heritable disorders of connective tissue (HDCT) characterized by joint laxity and hypermobility. The conditions are both genetic disorders of collagen synthesis, where the adverse effects of tissue laxity and fragility can give rise to clinical consequences that resonate more »
By Ross A. Hauser, MD & Clive Sinoff, MD To the Editor, Dr. Van Pelt has given an excellent description of prolotherapy of the foot and ankle.1 He states that “If the tendon has a complete rupture then orthopedic surgery is required and referral will be made promptly”. However, there are articles showing that conservative treatment (without prolotherapy) more »
By Ross A. Hauser, MD Once physicians starts doing regenerative medicine or alternative medicine, they never go back to regular allopathic medicine. As I have recently studied for my recertifying exam in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, I was struck as to how many conditions Prolotherapy can cure where traditional treatments fail. While exercise, manipulation, manual therapies, more »
By Ross A. Hauser, MD ABSTRACT Osteochondritis dissecans involves the separation of a segment of cartilage and subchondral bone, found most commonly in the knee, elbow, ankle and hip. Repetitive microtrauma from sports is a common cause especially among older adolescents and teenagers. To provide stability of the articular cartilage fragment, rest, splinting to surgery is more »
By Ross A. Hauser, MD & David P. Rabago, MD Hauser: Dr. Rabago, can you tell us briefly how you got into Prolotherapy? Rabago: I was in residency at University of Wisconsin, Madison and Dr. Jeff Patterson is on faculty here. He is pretty forward about including residents in that experience. He includes residents in clinical Prolotherapy at the UW, more »
By Ross A. Hauser, MD & Simon P. Petrides, DO Hauser: Dr. Petrides can you tell us your medical and training background? Petrides: I underwent formal medical training at Guy’s Hospital in London and then osteopathic training at the British School of Osteopathy, followed by sports medicine training and further training in musculoskeletal medicine. Hauser: Are you the founder of the more »
By Ross A. Hauser, MD Recently, Marion (my wife) and I had dinner at one of our favorite local restaurants with my primary mentor during my Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation residency, Robert O’Hara, MD, who is now Chief of Informatics at Edward J. Hines Medical Center, though he still has a neurology clinic where he sees more »
ABSTRACT Hand and finger pain and stiffness are common problems that can affect the productivity of those afflicted, especially in regard to their activities of daily living. Prolotherapy is an injection treatment used to initiate a healing response in injured connective tissues such as tendons and ligaments, tissues commonly involved with hand and finger injuries. more »
By Ross A. Hauser, MD & Marc N. Dubick, MD Hauser: Dr. Dubick, can you please tell us a little bit about your background? Dubick: I’m a board certified anesthesiologist, and I’ve been performing interventional pain management full time since 1993. I’m board certified in pain management through the American Board of Anesthesiology, which is the only pain management subspecialty more »
By Ross A. Hauser, MD It is well known to physicians who treat athletes that female athletes have a significantly higher prevalence of injuries to ligaments, such as the anterior cruciate ligament, than male athletes in the same sports. While some explanations for this discrepancy can include gender-related differences in bony structure or ligament size, endurance, more »
By Ross A. Hauser, MD One of the most frequently asked questions from a physician learning Prolotherapy is “how do you know what and where to inject?” The book Principles of Prolotherapy by Thomas H. Ravin, MD, Mark S. Cantieri, DO, FAAO, and George J. Pasquarello, DO, FAAO provides this information! The book is extremely well written and more »
By Jeri Coffey, DDS, Ross A. Hauser, MD, Nicole M. Baird, CHFP, & Doug R. Skinkis ABSTRACT The Journal of Prolotherapy team of Ross Hauser, MD, Nicole Baird, and Doug Skinkis, met with Jeri Coffey, DDS in her office in Riverside, Illinois. Dr. Coffey is often referred patients whose headache and neck pain may be due, in part, to more »
By Ross A. Hauser, MD & Joanne Borg-Stein, MD RH: Dr. Borg-Stein, please give our readership an overview of who you are, and your role at Harvard. JBS: I am on faculty at the Harvard Department of Physical Medicine and Rehab, and also at the Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital. I have roles as the director of the spine center at more »