By Sam on Wednesday, December 12, 2001 - 12:57 pm:

Thanks for all the advice on the accelerated program offered by Dr. Faber that I posted earlier. My next question deals with the solution types. Most people here seem to be dealing with SI dysfunction. My problem is with chronic low back pain. I have seen statistics that say Prolotherapy is 80-95% effective is that true or overblown. Getting back to the solutions, which is best? I have researched Prolo alot and I see nothing about the solution types. Lastly I would like everyones opinion on the number of treatments needed. Some say between 4-6 others say 6-10. Dr. Faber says 12-30. How many treatments will I need to go thru to know if it is working? I am a college student and the thought of 30 treatments makes my pocket book scream (at $150-200 per area that could add up) If the treatments are working that's another story, I'll find a way to pay for it. I just want to know when to stop or to continue in hopes it will work.

sorry I was so long winded buy I want to make a good decision.

Sam

By Greg on Wednesday, December 12, 2001 - 02:52 pm:

Sam,

The number of treatments depends on your indicidual diagnosis. I have EDS, and very poor healing, it took six months of treatments, two a month before i was a believer. I am a college student and have had to come up with some damn creative ways to pay for treatments. Dr. Faber has a good reputation, and I have talked to many EDS people who have been helped tremendously by him. It all depends on you as the individual, and the nature of your body.

Greg

By Silvia on Wednesday, December 12, 2001 - 04:58 pm:

Sam,

So far I've had 6 treatments and have noticed a tremendous difference in pain relief. At first my pain areas included my low back/sacroiliac joint, neck, whole spine, shoulders, ribs, right knee and ankle. My problems started with the SI joint and I was diagnosed with hypermobility a couple of months ago. The ONLY thing that has helped me with the pain is Prolotherapy, and I'm very grateful to God that my husband came across a website on it while trying to find answers and a cure to the chronic pain I was in.

Anyhow, regarding how many treatments are necessary, I guess this depends on the severity of the problem and the individual him/herself. Prior to getting it done I did lots of research and bought the book "Prolo your back pain away" by Dr. Hauser. This book was very helpful and it explains the procedure very well. I got mine at amazon.com.

I get my treatments every 6 weeks and my doctor believes I will need about a years' worth of them, but I'm hoping for less. Most of the pain areas have improved with the exception of my right knee, leg, and right sacroiliac joint. Those are still very painful but at least my SI joint is not as bad as before.

Here's some links about prolotherapy

http://www.prolotherapy.com
http://www.caringmedical.com
http://www.prolonews.com

You can also just do a search on it on the internet...There's a lot of info about it out there....

Silvia

By Park Griffin on Thursday, December 13, 2001 - 12:23 pm:

Prolotherapy is not an exact science. I know of one person who had success with only three sessions. My wife has had 15 sessions so far spaced one month apart.

PROLOTHERAPY DOES NOT CURE CHRONIC PAIN!!! Prolotherapy aids in the repair of soft tissue and aids in the stablization of dysfunctional joints and spinal segments, etc... Remember this well, NOT ALL DYSFUNCTION CAUSES PAIN!!! If you start chasing around w/ prolo to relieve chronic pain, most often the underlying factors for the chronic pain are missed. The best manner to follow forward w/ prolo is this:

1. Rule out obvious findings via an MRI. Once issues that show up on scans are addressed, the next step is this:

2. For chronic low back pain, where there is no diagnosis, one "must" area to have injected is the long and short posterior SI Ligaments. Also, critical, is the ligaments and soft tissue around L4-L5. During this time it is imperative to have a qualified assessment of your biomechanical posture. Prolotherpay works faster if your body is in alignment. Abdominal bracing exercises and an inner core strengthening program are essential.

3. Sodium Morrhuate IS NOT recommended if your body is in and out of alignment alot. The SM solution causes alot of tissue congestion allowing the body to get "stuck" out of alignment. It is much better to start with the dextrose based solution w/ 3-5 percent SM max. You should give yourself upto 6 months of prolo to see how you feel. Is your body staying in alignment? - is your range of motion normal in your joints, etc...? - do you have problems recruiting/isolating specific muscles when prescribed to perform specific exercises? - has your chronic pain eased up somewhat. If the answer is yes, then it may be warranted to continue with prolo.

4. Once you start to improve and get familiar with the prolo shots, the shots don't hurt as much. However, any ligament that is still strained will be painfully sensitive to the needle. The next strategy is this : Continue to exercise to stabilize and strengthen your body. - Have your doctor evaluate where your residual chronic pain is and treat as they see fit.

A few things to note: As your body takes on new characteristics as it heals, this can "wig" out your central nervous system. Many people after a few months of prolo run into a stretch (sometimes 2-3 months) of chronic neuromuscular spasms. It typically goes a way in this time frame, but interventional treatment by a physical therapist is recommended to calm the muscles down.

Another note worthy thing: You may find after successful results with prolotherapy that certain injections still hurt. This typically means that the ligament is still being strained. Many times nothing can be done about it, but interventional prolotherapy 1 to 2 times a year may be all that is neccessary to keep the ligament winning the tug of war. Also, if your body is staying in alignment, and your tissues are not too inflammed, it may be warranted to increase the sodium morrhuate if the injections are spaced six months a part. Picture it this way, dextrose based solution is used to slowly clamp your joints back together (it is the fixer). Once your body is in alignment and has healed to the point that your muscles and soft tissue are not inhibiting your full range of motion, sodium morrhuate can be considered as "super glue". You never want to use super glue unless you know that the two parts being glued are in the right spot.

By Karin Kaiser on Thursday, December 13, 2001 - 05:09 pm:

Hi Park, I just read your post and I wish
people would just look at the whole forum
(posts) and they would have discovered that
alignments are very important but young people are so eager to get well soon.

But I still wish everybody a speedy recovery.

Karin

By Cmeek on Sunday, December 23, 2001 - 07:30 pm:

Hello Siliva ,

You never said so I'm just assuming your seeing Dr Faber , the only reason i'm interested is because I am trying to find a good shoulder doc .

Thanks & Merry Christmans

Colin