Prolotherapy

Prolotherapy is the injection of an irritant solution (usually a form of sugar called dextrose) into joints, ligaments or tendons. It usually involves three to four or more shots given monthly for several months, followed by occasional, as-needed injections.

In people with osteoarthritis (OA), the 80-year-old therapy is most often used to treat join pain in the knees, fingers and thumbs. Most doctors who treat OA, however, use prolotherapy rarely, if at all.

This treatment is meant for injured joints and connective tissue. It’s also used to treat some people who have conditions like arthritis, whiplash, and degenerative disc disease. Prolotherapy can treat a number of areas of your body, including your back, neck, knees, shoulders, hips, pelvic floor, and hands.Because pain is an indication of tissue damage, the pain can be eliminated permanently as the tissue heals after the Prolotherapy treatment series. The term “Prolotherapy” was first used by George Hackett, MD, and has been derived from the word “proliferate”, which means to rapidly grow new cells. These newly created cells can cause hard-to-heal areas, such as ligaments, to repair, strengthen and tighten over time, restoring a painful, unstable joint, into a stable and healthy one.

Stem Cell

The usual job of joint cartilage is to promote smooth movement of joint surfaces and protect bones from friction. This process allows for shock absorption of up to 20 times the weight of the body. It’s essential to physical movement, especially in athletics.

Osteoarthritis is one of the most common chronic degenerative disorders and it very often affects the knee, causing deterioration of its joint cartilage over time.

Osteoarthritis can also begin as a result of a knee injury, such as a ligament tear, tendon damage, or a fracture.

In the face of damage, the joint becomes unstable and this wears down the articular cartilage. From there, the bone can suffer damage as well, in addition to the synovial joint lining, tendons, ligaments, and muscles. Stem cell therapy for knees is minimally invasive. It’s a procedure that can decrease inflammation, slow and repair all these forms of damage from arthritis, and delay or prevent knee replacement surgery.This regenerative therapy is used to replace, regenerate and repair damaged tissue.


Stem cells are located throughout the body and have the potential to divide, duplicate, and develop into different types of cells, such as a cartilage cell or a bone cell. When stem cells are placed into a certain environment, they transform to accommodate the need. For instance, when stem cells are placed near damaged cartilage, they develop into cartilage tissue. Stem cell therapy is a minimally invasive procedure that has the potential to repair joint cartilage whilst avoiding surgery. This form of therapy is effective for spinal cord injuries and osteoarthritis in the knee, hips, etc.

Platelet Rich Plasma Therapy

Platelet Rich Plasma Therapy (PRP) is a pain therapy treatment performed with natural, minimally invasive, injection therapy for the treatment of chronic or acute injuries. The PRP therapy involves injecting the platelets from the patient’s own blood to rebuild a damaged tendon or cartilage. It stimulates the healing process. Overall, PRP injection therapy plays an active role to treat a wide range of injuries and chronic pain conditions. Although blood is mainly a liquid (called plasma), it also contains small solid components (red cells, white cells, and platelets.) The platelets are best known for their importance in clotting blood. However, platelets also contain hundreds of proteins called growth factors which are very important in the healing of injuries.

Key Facts about Platelet Rich Plasma Injection Therapy

• PRP Injection therapy is a revolutionary treatment that helps patients with chronic knee pain.
• The therapy is performed using a minimally invasive procedure under the guidance of local anesthesia.
• Generally, the PRP injection therapy is done on 2 to 3 sessions of treatments depending on the Pathology.
• The whole procedure is done safely using the advanced PRP equipment available at high-end hospitals/clinics.
• Patients can get back to their jobs or usual activities right after the procedure.

PRP injections are effective for conditions like lumbar spine disc pain, osteoarthritis, rotator cu injuries, shoulder pain, tennis and golfer’s elbow, Patellofemoral syndrome (runner’s knee), ankle sprains, Achilles tendonitis, plantar fasciitis and sacroiliac (SI) joint dysfunction and pain. The listed conditions are as follows:

• Osteoarthritis Knee
• Frozen Shoulder
• Ligament injuries
• Osteoarthritis hip
• Ankle joint arthritis
• Tennis elbow
• Plantar Fasciitis
• Retrocaneal Bursitis
• De Quevain’s tenosynoivits
• Golfer’s elbow
• Trigger Finger / Thumb
• Achilles Tendonitis

To develop a PRP preparation, blood must first be drawn from a patient. The platelets are separated from other blood cells and their concentration is increased during a process called centrifugation. Then the increased concentration of platelets is combined with the remaining blood. A small blood sample is taken from the person being treated and put into a centrifuge or other specialized device that spins at high speed. This process separates platelets from other blood components. The concentration of platelets is then injected into the area of the person’s body that needs to be treated.

In PRP therapy, a concentration of platelets is injected into the damaged ligaments, tendons, joints, etc., in order to promote tissue repair and accelerate the healing process. Since platelets are rich in growth and possess healing properties, an injured individual can resume a pain-free life in an average of four to six weeks.

FAQs – Platelet Rich Plasma Injection

Viscosupplementation

After your viscosupplementation treatment, you can expect a reduction in pain and swelling and an improvement in motion. Some patients may achieve significant relief with a single treatment, while others may need a series of injections to achieve maximum relief. This relief will improve over the weeks following treatment, and usually lasts about six months or longer.