⚡ Quick Summary: What is Prolotherapy?
If you feel like your joints are unstable or loose, here is the 30-second summary:
- What it is: A series of injections using a natural sugar-water solution to tighten ligaments and tendons.
- How it works: The solution triggers a fresh wave of natural inflammation, which leads to new tissue growth.
- The “Biological Reminder” Analogy: Sometimes your body starts a repair job but stalls before it is finished. Prolotherapy is a reminder to go back and finish tightening the screws, the ligaments, holding your joint together.
- The ROSM Difference: We treat the whole region, not just one spot, because if one ligament is loose, the surrounding muscles and tendons are suffering too.
The Root Cause: Ligament Laxity
Many people have chronic pain because their ligaments have become stretched out from old injuries, repetitive use, or trauma. In the medical world, we call this ligament laxity. Think of a ligament like a heavy-duty rubber band. If that rubber band loses its snap, the joint it is supposed to hold together starts to wobble, causing the chronic aching and stiffness you feel.
How Dextrose Restarts Your Healing
Prolotherapy uses a 15 to 25 percent dextrose solution. When we inject the solution into a loose ligament, it creates a tiny amount of local irritation, which sends a signal to your immune system. Your body then sends a healing cascade of growth factors to the area to grow new, stronger fibers and tighten the joint back up.
A ROSM physician guiding a prolotherapy injection to the exact ligament causing joint instability.
The ROSM Standard: Precision and Persistence
- Guided by GPS: We never guess. We use ultrasound or X-ray guidance to ensure the dextrose lands exactly on the ligaments causing the instability.
- The Series of Three: We typically perform prolotherapy in a series of three treatments, spaced about a month apart, so your body can build layer upon layer of new, strong tissue.
- The Whole-Joint Strategy: We treat the neighborhood, not just the painful spot, addressing the ligaments, tendons, and muscles in the entire region.
The Journey: What to Expect
- Step 1, The Numbing: We use a local anesthetic so you stay comfortable during the procedure.
- Step 2, The Injection: Your doctor guides the needle to the targeted ligaments using a live view on the ultrasound screen.
- Step 3, The Good Inflammation: You will likely feel sore for 2 to 5 days. This means your body’s repair crew has arrived at the site. Avoid ibuprofen or other NSAIDs, since these stop the very inflammation we are trying to create.
- Step 4, Movement Is Medicine: After 3 days, we want you moving. Stretching and light exercise tell the new fibers how to align so they grow back stronger.
A note on cost: Prolotherapy has historically been classified as investigational by most insurance plans, so it is usually paid for out of pocket. HSA or FSA funds can typically be used to cover the cost. Coverage varies by plan, so the clearest way to know where you stand is a quick conversation with our team. Here is why insurance often works this way for regenerative treatments.
Ready to Start Healing?
You do not have to just live with the wobble or the ache. Let’s see if prolotherapy is the right next step for your recovery.
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