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home : the jaw joint : prolotherapyAdventure means risking something. And it is only when we are doing that, that we know what a splendid thing Life is and how well it can be lived.PROLOTHERAPY is also known as non-surgical ligament reconstruction. It is a treatment for chronic pain and for damaged joints - including the temporo mandibular joint. Prolotherapy is useful for many different types of musculo skeletal pain, including TMJ disorders, arthritis, back pain, neck pain, fibromyalgia, sports injuries, unresolved whiplash injuries, carpal tunnel syndrome, partially torn tendons, ligaments, and cartilage, and degenerated or herniated discs. "Prolo" is short for proliferation, because the treatment causes the proliferation [growth or formation] of new ligament tissue in areas where it has become weak or damaged. LIGAMENTS are the structural "rubber bands" that connect bones to bones in joints. Ligaments can become weak or injured and may not heal back to their original strength or endurance. This is largely because the blood supply to ligaments is limited, and therefore healing is slow and not always complete. To further complicate this, ligaments also have many nerve endings and therefore the person will feel pain at the areas where the ligaments are damaged or loose. TENDONS are the names given to the tissues that connect muscles to bones, and in the same manner tendons may become injured and cause pain. Prolotherapy uses a dextrose [sugar water] solution which is injected into the ligaments or tendons where they attach to the bone. This causes a localised inflammation in weak areas which then increases the blood supply and flow of nutrients and thus stimulates the tissues to repair themselves. The response to treatment varies from person to person and depends upon one's healing ability. Some people may require only a few treatments while others may need ten or more. The average numbers of treatments for the TMJ is six treatments spread over three months Following prolo therapy, the patient may take Panadol or apply ice to the area. However, as healing is stimulated by inflammation in the prolotherapy technique, anti-inflammatories such as Asprin, Brufen, or Nurofen MUST NOT BE TAKEN for at least three days following the injections. We have found that prolotherapy injections into the TMJs have reduced pain and clicking in the joints and have contributed to recovery from temporo mandibular disorders There is a lot of information on prolotherapy on the Internet, but only a limited amount on prolotherapy for the TMJ. The home site for many American doctors practicing prolo therapy is found at getprolo.com and this site contains a wealth of knowledge on this technique. If you are interested in this treatment modality for joints other than the jaw joint, then you could contact Dr Mitch Bloom at the Milford Health Clinic, 50 East Coast Road, Milford, Auckland. Phone 09 445 0005. Dr Bloom has been using prolotherapy techniques for over 12 years As a postscript, a headline in the New Zealand Herald during the Winter Olympics of 2006 blazed "NZ born therapist in Olympic row". The story detailed how a Mr Ongley, an elderly orthopaedic practitioner based in Mexico, injected a solution of water, glycerine, sugar, and phenol* into the damaged knees of four of the nine member US Olympic alpine ski team, in order to promote healing. "...the treatment, known as prolotherapy, is available in the US". The report goes on to say "Prolotherapy is a technique that is more than a century old; it purports to stimulate cell growth that can repair an injury by triggering inflammation of surrounding tissue or joints" and "...medical experts have said that mainstream interest in prolotherapy is growing". *note: we do not use glycerine or phenol in our injections. We prefer dextrose, local anaesthetic, and distilled water. |
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