Prolozone Therapy
Prolozone therapy relieves chronic pain. It is a non-surgical treatment that involves injecting a joint with a local anesthetic and following it with an equal amount of ozone. The combination relieves pain, while promoting the body’s ability to heal.
To further explain prolozone we must discuss how this therapy was developed. It is a combination of prolotherapy and ozone therapy.
In prolotherapy a healthcare provider injects a joint with a solution that irritates the tissues. It is usually a solution of dextrose (a sugar) in sterile water. The irritation causes inflammation, which initiates the body’s healing response. Prolotherapy is a proven and effective therapy. However, there are some drawbacks. First, it requires the practitioner be very precise, injecting at very specific points, if the location is missed then the therapy doesn’t work. Secondly, prolotherapy takes months of consistent injections to work. Finally, there is often significant pain involved.
Ozone therapy introduces ozone, which is a form of oxygen into tissues to initiate healing. Ozone (O3) is “unstable”, preferring to return to its more stable state of O2. It is in the movement back to O2 that the extra oxygen molecules become immediately available to the cells of the tissue at the injection site. The oxygen increases blood supply to the region stimulating the tissues to repair themselves.
Prolozone therapy is a combination of the two therapies and here is how it works. The injection begins with the introduction of the local anesthetic procaine, which numbs the regions being treated, reduces the local inflammation and changes the way pain is perceived after the treatment. Immediately after the procaine is introduced it is followed by an equal amount of ozone. The injections involve very little pain and the patient is able to move and continue normal activities right away.
The prolozone injections are repeated until the maximum improvement is experienced, some individuals need only one or two, while others require more. The number of injections and the time it takes to heal are dependent on the individual and the injury. Prolozone injections usually result in the complete absence of symptoms and represent a permanent fix.
Conditions Treated
- Osteoarthritis of the spine, knee and hip
- Rotator cuff injuries
- Back and neck pain
- Plantar fasciitis
- Tennis elbow
- Sciatica & low back pain
- Sprains & strains
- Carpal tunnel syndrome
- Sports related injuries
PRP Therapy
Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is a therapy that harnesses your body’s natural ability to repair itself and heal damaged tissue. It involves the injection of a patient’s own platelets into a joint space or muscle to accelerate the healing of injured tendons, ligaments and muscles.
What are Platelets?
Platelets are naturally found in your blood. They are a rich source of proteins called growth factors that promote healing. Any time your tissues are damaged or diseased, platelets migrate to the area, stimulating new cell growth, and accelerating tissue repair.
What is PRP Therapy?
When you undergo PRP therapy, we begin by drawing several tubes of your blood, centrifuging (spinning) it to separate it into its’ component parts. The platelets, also called thrombocytes, are removed and prepared for injection.
The targeted area is then numbed and the platelets are injected along with a small amount of ozone. The PRP and ozone stimulate the body’s self-repair mechanisms by recruiting stem cells to the area, reducing inflammation and pain and triggering the production of collagen – present in muscle and connective tissue.
Over time, sometimes a few weeks to several months, the pain resolves as the healing is complete.
Conditions Treated
- Arthritis
- Tendonitis
- Partial rotator cuff tears
- Sprains and strains
- Joint capsular laxity
- Plantar fasciitis
- Knee pain
- Back and neck pain
Sources: Bluetail Medical Group
