Prolotherapy UK - Manchester & Burnley
Interested in Prolotherapy?
Prolotherapy has its origins in the USA in the 1930’s, when it was first used to inject joints to strengthen them.
George Hackett, an American Surgeon, was one of the original pioneers of Prolotherapy who worked on this principle and noted promising results.
The Hacket-Hemwall Patterson foundation in America is the international authority and training centre for prolotherapy
What is Prolotherapy?
Prolotherapy is a regenerative treatment for chronic painful joints/ligaments which involves the injection of a specially formulated solution into damaged tissue. These injections over time are designed to provide a strengthening effect to the tendons/ligaments they are injected into.
It does not involve surgery or medication such as morphine or neuropathic painkillers such as gabapentin or pregabalin, some of which have strong side effects.
It is a relatively safe procedure involving injections of a specially formulated solution into injured or painful joints, ligaments and tendons. These injections stimulate the body’s own healing response with growth of healthy tissue.
Research has shown prolotherapy can increase ligament mass and thickness.
What is Prolotherapy used for?
Prolotherapy is used in many chronic musculoskeletal conditions such as Joint Arthritis, nerve pain, tendon repairs and back pain. Patients who have suffered with many years of pain due to instability in their joints often benefit from prolotherapy.
Prolotherapy is particularly useful around joints that may subluxate (ie as in Endlos Danlos Syndrome) or around joints which may have dislocated previously i.e the shoulder joint. In these cases the surrounding tissue is injected to strengthen the tissue and prevent further subluxations.
For patients suffering from chronic back pain, the treatment choices are often limited. Limited physiotherapy or life-long medications such as gabapentin, amitryptilline or in worse cases tramadol or morphine (with associated side effects) are often prescribed.
Often the patients may even be told the pain is ‘in their head’ and referred to a psychologist. Some are offered Spinal surgery but this is not always successful and often any side effects are life long and irreversible.
Prolotherapy may help individuals with hypermobility who suffer from lower back pain. This pain is often due to an unstable spinal structure and excessive ‘sway’ of the spinal column causing disc prolapse or annular fissures (tears of the disc substance-nucleus pulpous).
Lower disc degenerative disease may benefit from prolotherapy when all other measures have failed due to the growth and repair of new tissue in response to the injections
Cervical spondylosis (Neck Arthritis) and lumbar spondylosis are also conditions that can be treated with prolotherapy.
Conditions treated with Prolotherapy
- Chronic Back Pain, Lumbar Instability (Degenerative Disc Disease, Spondylosis), Knee Meniscal tears, Ligament strain (Ankle especially the ATFL which is prone to strains after rolling the ankle, Knee Collateral Ligaments) Rotator Cuff Muscle tears (especially Supraspinatus Partial Thickness Tears) Tennis Elbow, Wrist Joint Arthritis.
- In recent years a special form of prolotherapy termed Neural prolotherapy using the Lyftogt technique have helped patients all over the world control their pain where other measures such as strong neuropathic drugs and opioids have failed.
- This is another form of Prolotherapy utilised here at MyMSK clinic
- Prolotherapy is safe and 3-6 treatments are often required for optimal benefit.
- Initially the patient has 3 treatments 4-6 weeks apart and is given 6-9 months to see their effects
The term prolotherapy is derived from the process of injecting a specially formulated solution, often P2G or hypertonic Dextrose into the joints/ ligaments or tissues to cause a pro inflammatory reaction and subsequent repair using the body’s own repair mechanisms.
By injecting prolotherapy solution into several joints, ligaments and tendons, we aim for a stronger repair or Biological weld of the relevant structures being injected.
Picture of shoulder capsule showing the various structures which are injected in shoulder prolotherapy.
What is involved in Spinal Prolotherapy?
- Facet Joints (both sides)
- Interspinous ans supraspinous ligaments
- Transvere Processes
- Sacroiliac ligaments
- Iliolumbar ligaments
The purpose of these injections is to stabilise the base of the spinal column and minimise the unstable movements of the spine.
Often an annular tear/fissure of the disc or a prolapsed or dehydrated/degenerated disc may cause the spinal column to waver resulting in ‘instability’ of the spine. When the patient moves this instability can cause ‘excessive’ micro movements of each vertebral segment (building blocks of the spine) which can be a pain generator. In this situation the patient is caught in a never ending cycle of pain and poor quality of life.
Skeleton Model showing the attachment points of the supraspinous, interspinous and iliolumbar ligaments.
In this situation especially prolotherapy can be very helpful.
The most commonly used solutions are Dextrose or P2G (a combination of dextrose, glycerol and phenol).
This solution was originally formulated by Milney Ongley in 1960 and he practised Polotherapy with great success well into his 90’s!
Dextrose (concentrated 12.5-25%)
Dextrose/Glycerol/Phenol mixture ‘P2G’.
Prolotherapy Aftercare
Frequently a flare up of pain for up to 48hrs after the injection. Patients are asked not to take NSAIDS for the duration of the course of treatment as it can interfere with the healing cascade. In spinal prolotherapy, patients should also walk for 30 minutes a day during the course of treatment for optimal functional orientation of collagen repair.
Interested in Prolotherapy?
Book in for Prolotherapy now at MyMSK Clinic on 0333 772 9655
Contact us
We’d love to hear from you!
Just reach out and contact us via any of
these channels:
Call us on
Email us on
Call us on
