Pain is Not Your Destiny

You can get rid of almost all your pains that make your life miserable, and say hello to a life filled with peace and tranquility instead of constant pain.

You can get rid of almost all your pains that make your life miserable, and say hello to a life filled with peace and tranquility instead of constant pain.

Wonder how? The answer is PROLOTHERAPY…

So, what is Prolotherapy and what is it good for? Let’s try to see with a few questions what prolotherapy is and how you can get rid of your pain.

1. What is prolotherapy?
The fibrous connective tissue that connects bones to each other, bears the load and facilitates the stability of bones and joints is called ligament, while the fibrous connective tissue that attaches the muscle to bone is referred to as tendon.

Prolotherapy is a treatment method where an irritant solution is injected into soft tissue causing pain such as tendons, ligaments or joints, to create there an inflammation and thus promote healing. In etymologic terms, the word prolotherapy means offspring and proliferate.

2. How does it come that prolotherapy can heal injured tendons, ligaments and joints? 
Humanity has overcome a large variety of diseases for over 60 million years thanks to repair mechanisms it has been blessed with and continues to do so. One of these repair mechanisms is inflammation. The inflammation created by inflammatory cells rushing to an injured part of the body are actually part of a self-healing, self-repair process. This healing process is made up of 3 phases. Phase 1 is the formation of inflammation. Phase 2 is granulation where formation of new, fresh tissue takes place. And phase 3 is remodeling where raw cells get remodeled, i.e., where injured tissues get replaced by new tissue.

The inflammation phase takes 1 to 3 days, the granulation phase 7 to 10 days, whereas the remodeling phase can last for as long as 1 to 3 years. These 3 phases constitute the basis for prolotherapy. Our patients get a good relief of their pain in the first two phases, with their complaints completely disappearing in a couple years. 

3. How does the solution used in prolotherapy work? Are there any side effects?
We usually use a sugar serum - a natural solution that is not foreign to our body and does not cause any harm to our cells. We prepare these serums according to the area it is going to be applied. The aim is to induce an inflammation which will help our patients heal in a short time. It must not be forgotten that inducing an inflammation calls for ultimate care, failure of which may have undesirable consequences including septic inflammation.

4. What diseases can be treated with prolotherapy? 
Prolotherapy is an important treatment method in musculoskeletal diseases. Briefly, the diseases we treat include headaches, neck pain, back pain, low back pain, cervical/lumbar disk hernia, shoulder ligament tears, wrist carpal tunnel syndrome, avascular necrosis of wrist bones, lordosis, disc displacement, hip pain, arthritis of the hip, aseptic necrosis of the femoral head, tears in hip ligaments, osteitis pubis (footballers groin), meniscal tears, partial tears of anterior and posterior cruciate ligaments, arthritis of the knee, knee edema, decreased synovial fluid, leg pain, kneecap pain, dislocated kneecap, deterioration of patellar cartilage, ankle pain, pain caused by stress fractures, avascular necrosis of ankle bones, hallux valgus, persistent pain after fractures, etc.…

The key to success in prolotherapy is not the solution itself but the spot where it is injected. An experienced and trained hand is highly significant for the therapy’s success. Other factors that determine success are application of the procedure in a sterile environment and proper follow-up of patients.

5. What are the things that patients should do after prolotherapy? 
Patients are advised to do short-time cold compress in the first 24 hours after their first prolotherapy session. In the following 3 days, they should apply warm water to the injection sites 3 to 4 times a day, for 15 minutes each. On day 4, patients should slowly start to do stretching exercises and increase the number of exercises by day 10 while carrying on their daily activities. We prescribe our patients painkillers that do not impede inflammation so as not to interrupt healing.

6. How many sessions of prolotherapy should be done?
The number of prolotherapy sessions and the interval at which each session should be applied varies from person to person. The most important factors affecting prolotherapy sessions are age, joint diseases, whether the patient lives an active life, whether the patient sticks to the prescribed exercise program, the extent of the injury in ligaments, tendons or joints, as well as the time to which the injury dates back.

7. Can prolotherapy be applied only once pain has onset? 
Most patients consult us when their disease has already advanced. Yet, they would heal much faster and could avoid a possible surgical treatment if they would come in as soon as pain sets in. Prolotherapy can also be applied prophylactically. Especially in sportspersons, prolotherapy can be an effective means to prevent injuries during the whole season if applied 1 to 2 sessions before season starts.