Most of us have had an injury of some sort but for those of us that have chronic pain understand that it is no laughing matter.

From back pain to headaches, arthritis to tennis elbow living with pain can make even the most basic tasks seem overwhelming. Imagine waking every morning and having to spend 20 minutes stretching just to be able to bend enough to put your clothes on.

Most of us have sprained an ankle at one time or anther and sadly we know that once sprained an ankle is never the same.

Other areas of the body too seem prone to injury by a simple misstep or too fast a turn: knees, shoulders, elbows, toes, wrists. If there is a joint it is susceptible to injury. There are over 200 bones in the human body and put together with muscles and ligaments are given mobility and agility. Connecting every bone is an intricate network of soft tissue including ligaments, tendons and cartilage.

This soft tissue is very vulnerable to injury from basic movements such as lifting to exercise and accident. A ligament connects bone to bone while a tendon connects muscle to bone. When either of these tissues are injured pain and inflammation results.

Sometimes the injury repairs quickly and we continue on without second thought; however, often these tissues do not heal properly and remain damaged resulting in chronic pain.

Ligaments are largely used for stabilizing joints. An unstable joint will create subsequent muscle tension which translates into pain. A damaged tendon results in chronic inflammation or tendinosis which also translates into pain.

So, we all get that injury causes pain but besides medications and surgery what are the options? The conventional treatment for pain is usually a myriad of anti inflammatory medications, muscle relaxants, and sometimes even anti depressants.

But tackling the cause of the problem is often overlooked leading to a lifetime of “pain management”; however, there are safe and effective options that treat the cause and heal the damage.

There are hundreds of physicians and osteopaths that use a technique called prolotherapy to help heal damaged tissue using simple injections that are far less invasive that surgery with much less recovery and rehabilitation time.

In April 2005 the Mayo Clinic endorsed this therapy in its monthly health newsletter stating that prolotherapy can be an effective alternative when patients are not responding to physical therapy and exercise.

What is prolotherapy?

Prolotherapy involves injecting dextrose, a simple sugar, and procaine, a local anesthetic, into the damaged tissue or joint to stimulate proliferation (growth) of new, healthy tissue.

The injections create acute inflammation in the area which stimulates healing by attracting cells carried in the blood that promote tissue repair. Inflammation is the body’s natural response to injury and is necessary for healing to occur.

By using anti inflammatory substances for acute injuries healing is often suppressed and chronic pain and dysfunction results.

Unlike injections of corticosteroids, which also suppress inflammation and provide only temporary relief from pain, prolotherapy is able to promote healthy growth of new tissue which provides permanent healing to the area.

Prolotherapy is also often used as an adjunct to other treatments such as chiropractic adjustments, physiotherapy, massage therapy and dental work.

Conditions successfully treated with prolotherapy include: arthritis, neck pain, back pain, SI joint pain, post whip lash pain and headache, knee injury, golfer’s elbow, tennis elbow, carpal tunnel syndrome, TMJ, plantar fasciitis, rotator cuff tears, and sciatica.

Basically any pain associated condition is a candidate for prolotherapy.