Prolotherapy in Primary Care Practice

A row of empty glass bottles with one blue liquid in them.

Prolotherapy is an injection-based complementary and alternative medical (CAM) therapy for chronic musculoskeletal pain. It has been used for approximately 100 years. However, its modern applications can be traced to the 1950s when the prolotherapy injection protocols were formalized by George Hackett, a general surgeon in the U.S., based on his clinical experience of over 30 years. While prolotherapy techniques and injected solutions vary by condition, clinical severity, and practitioner preferences, a core principle is that a relatively small volume of an irritant or sclerosing solution is injected at sites on painful ligament and tendon insertions, and in adjacent joint space over the course of several treatment sessions. A Interest in prolotherapy among physicians and patients is high. It is becoming increasingly popular in the U.S. and internationally, and is actively used in clinical practice. A 1993 survey sent to osteopathic physicians estimated that 95 practitioners in the US were estimated to have performed prolotherapy on approximately 450,000 patients. However, only 27% of surveys were returned, likely dramatically underestimated true number of practitioners. A No formal survey has been done since 1993. The current number of practitioners actively practicing prolotherapy is not known, but is likely several thousand in the US based on attendance at CME conferences and physician listings on relevant websites. Prolotherapy has been assessed as a treatment for a wide variety of painful chronic musculoskeletal conditions which are refractory to standard of caretherapies. While anecdotal clinical success guides the use of prolotherapy for many conditions, clinical trial literature supporting evidence-based decision-making for the use of prolotherapy exists for low back pain, several tendinopathies and osteoarthritis. ”

– (Rabago)

To read further, Click the attached link. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2831229/