Evidence for Prolotherapy – A few examples

1800 patients followed for 2 years; 80% showed marked improvement in upper and lower body pain; Hackett GS: Prolotherapy in whiplash low back pain. Postgrad Mad 27:214-219,1960 Two RCTs (160 participants) found that prolotherapy injections, given with spinal manipulation, exercise, and other therapies, are more effective than control injections for chronic low-back pain and disability. http://www.cochrane.orgireviews/en/ab004059.html

60% increase in collagen fibril diameter measured at 3 months after 6 weekly injections in patients with low back pain; Klein RG, Dorman TA, Johnson CE; Proliferant injections for Low Back Pain: Histological Changes of Injected Ligaments and Objective Measurements of Lumbar Spine Mobility Before and After Treatment J Neural Orthop Med Surg 10: 141-144, 1989 Osmolarity studies: Elevation osmolarity by as little as 50 mOsm has been found to activate multiple growth factors including PDGF

Response of Knee ligaments to Prolotherapy in a Rat Injury Model; Am J Sports Med July 2008 vol. 36 no. 7 1347-1357 Conclusion: Dextrose injections increased the cross-sectional area of MCLs compared with saline-injected and uninjured controls. Dextrose injections did not alter other measured properties in this model.

A systematic review of four injection therapies for lateral epicondylosis: prolotherapy, polidocanol, whole blood and platelet-rich plasma; British Journal of Sports Medicine 2009;43:471-481 Conclusions: There is strong pilot-level evidence supporting the use of prolotherapy, polidocanol, autologous whole blood and platelet-rich plasma injections in the treatment of LE.

Prolotherapy for Chronic Muskuloskeletal Pain. American Physician – Volume 84, issue 11 (December 2011)

Positive outcomes have been reported in prospective studies assessing prolotherapy for refractory coccygodynia,(13] sacroiliac joint dysfunction,[14] and leg pain caused by moderate to severe degenerative disk disease.(15]

Prolotherapy performed by an experienced injector appears safe; no clinical trials report significant adverse events.

Ultrasonography in Regenerative Injection (Prolotherapy) Using Dextrose, Platelet-rich Plasma, and Other Injectants Physical Medicine an Rehabilitation Clinics of North America – Volume 21, Issue 3 (August 2010)

Conclusion: The cases documented here show clear tissue repair on ultrasound in individual cases of prolotherapy treatment.

Hypertonic dextrose injections (prolotherapy) for knee osteoarthritis: results of a single-arm uncontrolled study with 1-year follow-up. _ Rabago D – J Alterm Complement Med – 01-APR-2012; 18(4): 408-14

CONCLUSIONS: In adults with moderate to severe KOA (knee osteoarthritis), dextrose prolotherapy may result in safe, significant, sustained improvement of knee pain, function, and stiffness scores.

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