FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT PROLOTHERAPY AND NEURAL PROLOTHERAPY
I have been in pain for many years. Can this treatment work for me?
Many people, some of whom had been suffering from as long as 40 years, have obtained relief from either of these treatments.
How do I know if this is right for me?
If your pain is due to nerve damage, then neural prolotherapy is likely to help. With nerve damage, pressing lightly on the affected area will cause pain. You will also have pain at rest.
If your pain comes from the parts of your body that move such as your muscles, tendons, ligaments or joints it will be worse when you are moving. If that is the case, then you are likely to be helped by prolotherapy treatments, which can help rebuild these structures.
Are these treatments painful?
Most neural prolotherapy treatments are almost painless: the needle used to inject the sugar solution under the skin is approximately the size of a hair. With this treatment, the pain relief is almost immediate: it comes within a few seconds of the injection.
Prolotherapy treatments can be painful, but the physician usually freezes the skin before inserting the needle, and this greatly reduces the pain. Following the treatment, there is pain lasting from two days to two weeks.
Once the pain is gone, how long will I be pain free?
With neural prolotherapy, at the end of the first session, you should be pain free for anywhere from four hours to four days. If your pain comes back within an hour of the session, it is unlikely that neural prolotherapy will work for you. With every session, you remain pain-free for longer and longer periods until your pain doesn’t come back. It may never come back after that.
Prolotherapy helps rebuild ligaments and tendons, and your pain-free status will last as long as there is no more damage done to those structures.
I have been told I need surgery. Should I consider this treatment as an alternative?
For some people, surgery is the only way to repair damage to the body. It might be worth trying this treatment while you are waiting for surgery, as it is safe, has few side effects, and you can always cancel the surgery if you find your symptoms are relieved.
Does this treatments work all the time?
To my knowledge, no treatment works all the time. You can expect prolotherapy to work about 70% of the time, and neural prolotherapy to work approximately 80% of the time.
Will I have to come back? How often?
At first, neural prolotherapy only gives temporary relief, and you have to come back about once a week for about a month. Then, as you remain pain-free for longer and longer periods, you come back about once every other week for another two months or so.
On average, people who receive prolotherapy need 1.67 treatments before they are better.
Does this mean I can stop my pain medication?
Many people who undergo neural prolotherapy have been on narcotics and nerve pain medicine for a long time. Once you are pain free, you can certainly stop your pain medication, but it is better to do it slowly to avoid withdrawal symptoms.
Should I be taking anti-inflammatory medication to control my pain?
If you take anti-inflammatory medications while you are undergoing prolotherapy, the treatment will not work as it is based on the use of inflammation to start the healing process.
If you are undergoing neural prolotherapy, you can take anti-inflammatory medication or any other medication.
Are there any side effects?
When you are undergoing neural prolotherapy that you may have bruising and there is a very slight risk of skin infection.
Depending on the area that is injected in a prolotherapy treatment, there is a risk that the injection needle may cause damage to nearby organs. On very rare occasions the following side effects are possible: when the rib cage is injected, the needle can perforate the lung. In the neck, there are many nerves and blood vessels as well as the spinal cord which can, be injured. In the spine, the spinal cord and nerves can be damaged. Serious side effects are less common in the limbs, but some nerves can be injured. Prolotherapy often causes temporary bruising. It is important to remember that these side effects, except for bruising, happen very rarely. Those contemplating surgery should also know that there are risks to surgery as well as to general anesthesia and that recovery time from surgery can be very long.
Click here for more information on what prolotherapy is, how prolotherapy works , what conditions respond to it when should you avoid it what are the risks what are the benefits how long does it last how much does it cost a new treatment for chronic pain www.painrelief.be the prolotherapy consent form who is Dr. Bertrand as well as testimonials and how to get to Dr. Bertrand's office.