Prolotherapy is an orthopedic procedure that involves injecting a healing solution into a joint and/or at the ends of ligaments to encourage healing and strengthening of injured joints or connective tissue.
When connective tissue is stretched or torn, the associated joint becomes destabilized and often painful. Prolotherapy injections directly address the cause of the instability by triggering ligaments and connective tissue to heal and therefore stabilize the joint. Prolotherapy provides a more permanent solution to pain than anti-inflammatory treatments.
Many different solutions are used in treatment, but the most common is dextrose. Occsaionally, Dr. Delo will use pumice in recalcitrant cases. She utilizes ultrasound guidance to deliver the treatment to the specific target tissue. She is trained in the Hackett Hemwall technique of performing prolotherapy. The procedures are often performed in a series, but this depends on the individual response to treatment. Commonly treated conditions include pelvic and SI joint instability, spinal pain, shoulder and rotator cuff instability, and small joint osteoarthritis.
