FW: Prolonews, Soreness After Prolotherapy, Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, Degenerative Disc Disease

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Soreness After Prolotherapy

A patient is generally sore for a couple of days after Prolotherapy. This is

because the injections have to go through some muscles to get to the

ligaments and tendons. To help the muscle soreness resolve itself sooner,

massage therapy and moist heat applied to the area is recommended. Natural

products to encourage soft tissue healing, such as bromelain, MSM, or

products such as Ortho Prolo Max, are recommended. Gentle manipulation

techniques, such as myofascial release, strain-counter-strain, or activator

gun treatments, are helpful. Other modalities that improve circulation and

assist the healing from Prolotherapy include acupuncture, Rolfing,

electrical stimulation, magnets, infrared heat, and ultrasound.

For those who are more sensitive to pain, medications such as Tylenol and

Ultram, which are not anti- inflammatory medications, are permissible.

Occasionally a muscle relaxant is needed. It is very important to avoid

anti-inflammatory medications, as these may decrease the effectiveness of

Prolotherapy. Narcotic medications, such as Vicodin, Tylenol with Codeine,

and Darvocet should also be avoided because they depress the immune system.

Of course, this is not helpful because the immune system is critical for

healing after Prolotherapy.

Exercising is permitted as soon as the patient feels ready. Generally, light

exercise can begin two days after Prolotherapy. The general rule is if a

certain activity or exercise hurts significantly, switch to a different one.

A small amount of pain is expected while recovering from an injury, but not

significant pain. If the patient receives one Prolotherapy treatment and

feels fine, follow-up is still recommended to allow the physician to assess

the area for complete healing. If it is still significantly tender, further

treatments are needed because the area is still injured. Once the tenderness

is gone, the patient is cured.

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

We all know where Carpal Tunnel Syndrome comes from: Pressure, damage, or

repeated injury to the median nerve at the wrist. We all also know that

wrist surgery has limited and widely varying degrees of success in treating

it. Women are more likely to have Carpal Tunnel Syndrome because it has been

linked to pregnancy, PMS, and menopause. Where typing at a keyboard is also

a major factor, this one time realm of women office workers is now nearly

equally shared by men as the number of computer related jobs increase among

the male population.

Other factors for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome include rheumatoid arthritis, renal

failure, diabetes, high blood pressure, and obesity.

Unfortunately, many patients with elbow and hand pain have been misdiagnosed

with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. A typical Carpal Tunnel Syndrome patient will

experience pain and numbness in the hand. Because most physicians do not

know the referral pain patterns of ligaments, they do not realize that

cervical vertebrae 4 and 5 and the annular ligament can refer pain to the

thumb, index, and middle fingers. Ligament laxity can also cause numbness.

Cervical and annular ligament laxity should always be evaluated prior to

making a diagnosis of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. Surgery for Carpal Tunnel

Syndrome should not be done until an evaluation is performed by a physician

who understands the referral problems of ligaments and is experienced in

Prolotherapy.

Seldom do patients find relief from " Carpal Tunnel " complaints of pain in

the hand and elbow with physical therapy and surgery because the diagnosis

is wrong. The most common reason for pain in the elbow referring pain to the

hand is weakness in the annular ligament, not from Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.

Several sessions of Prolotherapy will easily strengthen the annular ligament

and relieve chronic elbow pain.

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Degenerative Disc Disease

From the book, Prolo Your Sports Pain Away, Excerpts from Chapter 17, Prolo

Your Sports Back Pain Away, contributor Jean- Ouellette, M.D.

Degenerative disc disease (DDD). This is a common form of osteoarthritis in

the back. A degenerated disc is one that has lost some water and as a result

loses height and flattens.

When the disc is of normal height, the ligaments that hold the spine

together remain at normal length. As the disc height decreases in

degenerative disc disease, the vertebrae move closer together. As a result,

like a rubber band that loses tension, the ligaments of the spine become

loose. Loose or lax ligaments do not hold the vertebrae in place and as they

move, chronic pain results.

In athletes, DDD can be seen even at a very early age (late teens or early

20s) as a result of sports injuries that never healed. When, at a young age,

an athlete permanently overstretches the ligaments of the low back, the

lumbar spine becomes unstable, and excessive movement occurs at that segment

of the spine. This results in excessive stress being exerted on the disc.

The disc cannot sustain the excessive pressures and, gradually, fissures and

tears develop in the outer layer of the disc. The process of degenerative

disc disease is thus accelerated, especially if the athlete continues to

play. Eventually many or all of the lumbar discs become degenerated.

Degeneration of a disc begins as soon as the lumbar ligaments become loose.

If not corrected, a vicious cycle is perpetuated and vertebral instability

and degeneration will be inevitable. The cycle starts with ligament injury,

which leads to increased stress on the disc, which causes thinning of the

disc. This puts more pressure on other discs and increases the degenerative

disc disease. This causes instability in the lumbar vertebrae, which

increases the stress exerted on the disc. More fissures develop in the outer

rim of the disc, worsening the DDD, and the process continues to repeat

itself. The worse the degenerative disc disease, the worse the instability,

and vice versa.

The solution for the athlete is to receive Prolotherapy as early as

possible. Prolotherapy can be used at any point in the above cycle. It can

be used immediately after the injury to stimulate a quicker healing, or it

can be used after DDD and instability has formed. For the athlete who wants

to be competitive, however, the earlier the instability is treated with

Prolotherapy, the quicker athletic excellence will occur.

By correcting the instability of the lumbar spine at an early stage,

Prolotherapy will cause less stress to be imposed on the disc and less

degeneration to occur at the disc. The phase where more frequent or even

constant low back pain occurs, with its debilitating effect on the life of

an athlete, can thus be avoided or halted. It is important to treat loose

ligaments early to prevent long-term problems and a premature end of an

athlete's career.

These articles are drawn from the books of Ross Hauser, M.D., and n

Hauser, M.S,R.D. We would like to remind you that all the Hauser's books,

including Prolo Your Pain Away and Prolo Your Sports Injuries Away are

offered at a significant discount at http://www.beulahlandpress.com/