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The Pros and Cons of Prolotherapy

The Pros and Cons of Prolotherapy/Regenerative Medicine

What can Prolo/Regenerative Medicine do and what can it not do?
To start with, no single approach can solve all problems. Prolo cannot address bone fractures, total tears of connective tissue structures and true nerve impingement (accompanied by weakness). However if the primary symptom is pain, I would suggest that your first visit should be a connective tissue specialist as ligaments and tendon insertions are by far the biggest pain generators in the musculoskeletal system.
Yes, the shots can be sore and the symptoms may be aggravated for a few days after the shots. Most people will accept this short-term discomfort once they understand that this may very well be the only way to solve the long-term problem.
If your primary complaint is weakness, your first visit should be to get an MRI and see a good Neurosurgeon.
It does take time. Prolo is not magic. In all likeliness it will take 6 to 10 sessions to solve the problem. To be sure, many patients experience improvement in 3 or 4 sessions but this is not to be expected. I cannot predict how a given person is going to respond. Rather, I ask my patients to rate their pain at each visit and simply observe what transpires. Regenerative Medicine is about healing and healing takes time. The good news is once the affected structure is repaired, it is likely that the healing will be permanent, and the pain will be gone.
It is true that in some cases the healing may no be complete and the patient may re-injure an area or still have some pain. Nothing in medicine is 100%. If I can get a patient 80% relief of a condition and return them to active living, I am satisfied.

What can Prolo/Regenerative Medicine do and what can it not do?

To start with, no single approach can solve all problems. Prolo cannot address bone fractures, total tears of connective tissue structures and true nerve impingement (accompanied by weakness). However if the primary symptom is pain, I would suggest that your first visit should be a connective tissue specialist as ligaments and tendon insertions are by far the biggest pain generators in the musculoskeletal system.

Yes, the shots can be sore and the symptoms may be aggravated for a few days after the shots. Most people will accept this short-term discomfort once they understand that this may very well be the only way to solve the long-term problem.

If your primary complaint is weakness, your first visit should be to get an MRI and see a good Neurosurgeon.

It does take time. Prolo is not magic. In all likeliness it will take 6 to 10 sessions to solve the problem. To be sure, many patients experience improvement in 3 or 4 sessions but this is not to be expected. I cannot predict how a given person is going to respond. Rather, I ask my patients to rate their pain at each visit and simply observe what transpires. Regenerative Medicine is about healing and healing takes time. The good news is once the affected structure is repaired, it is likely that the healing will be permanent, and the pain will be gone.

It is true that in some cases the healing may no be complete and the patient may re-injure an area or still have some pain. Nothing in medicine is 100%. If I can get a patient 80% relief of a condition and return them to active living, I am satisfied.