Prolotherapy

Prolotherapy was first discovered in the middle 1950’s by an orthopedic surgeon named George Hackett. Dr. Hackett noticed that many people who had chronic pain, especially pain around the joints including the low back, neck, hips and knee, had pain stemming from the ligaments and tendons that held those tissues together. In many cases the pain was blamed on the joints themselves or degeneration of the cartilage, or osteoarthritis.

Dr. Hackett discovered that as the ligament is a band of fibrous tissue that holds bones together, just like a rubber band, it can become overstretched. The resulting laxity can cause severe pain as bones rub together or muscles are overworked as they tighten in an attempt to stabilize bones.

At our Clearwater clinic Prolotherapy is a treatment where a solution called a proliferant (a proliferant is something that makes something grow or expand), of a natural substance, is injected directly into the site where the weakened ligament attaches to the bone. These injections trigger the body’s own skeletal system to grow new and healthy collogen which then properly stabilize the bones and joints, relieving various musculoskeletal pain and stiffness.

Prolotherapy is one of the treatments for choice for chronic pain. It is used to treat degenerative arthritis, low back pain, torn ligaments, cartilage, carpal tunnel syndrome and other conditions.

Prolotherapy is a technique which requires no surgery and has no long term negative side-effect, this treatment is extremely valuable. As many as 85% to 90% of people with low back pain can get complete relief with Prolotherapy treatment. In most cases, between 1-6 treatments are required, separated by approximately 3-4 weeks. Over the course of treatment, people feel gradually decreasing pain and improvement of function.

With the natural substance is injected into the ligament it triggers a healing response. In animal experiments, this healing response has shown to increase the size of the thickness of the ligament by as much as 40%.

Many Tampa Bay residents have found pain relief from Prolotherapy and it can work for you, too. Call 727-466-6789 for an appointment.

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Author: Dr. David Minkoff, M.D.Website: http://www.lifeworkswellnesscenter.com/our-team/dr-david-minkoff-m-d.html

Founder and Medical Director

In 1995, Dr. Minkoff's wife became ill and her physicians couldn't find what was wrong. Not accepting their "no hope" conclusion, Dr. Minkoff went on a search to help her which led him out of emergency medicine into complementary and alternative medicine to find the answers. In the process he gained expertise in Biological medicine, heavy metal detoxification, anti-aging medicine, hormone replacement therapy, functional medicine, energy medicine, neural and prolotherapy, homeopathy and optimum nutrition. He studied under the masters in each of these disciplines until he became an expert in his own right. The answers he found were soon in demand when others learned of his wife’s return to good health. In response to this, he and his wife, Sue Minkoff RN established Lifeworks Wellness Center in 1997 and it quickly became one of the most comprehensive complementary and alternative medicine clinics in the U.S.