When a person arrives in my office with sore joints looking for immediate relief I usually suggest prolotherapy or prolozone. If they haven’t been using any biological anti-inflammatories, I’ll suggest they consider using glucosamine, chondroitin, herbs like turmeric, boswellia and often bromelain from pineapple (all in one easy to take formula). If a person is overweight, the evidence shows that calorie restriction and weight loss helps ease pain.
For anyone with osteoarthritis, pain can be reduced by eating more kale, parsley and spinach. Fish oils also reduce the pain of arthritis. At the heart of a large study from 2018 was the message that a good diet and regular exercise helps ease joint pain associated with osteoarthritis. Sometimes, if the pain is severe, I’ll suggest a low dose of cortisone injected into the joint. This approach, however, should only be used once or twice and doesn’t help the joint heal (more on this in a future article).
Prolotherapy and prolozone are two restorative injection therapies that give immediate and often lasting relief from chronic pain. Prolotherapy is done by using an ultrasound to guide a needle into the joint capsule where 3-5 ml’s of 25% dextrose and 1% procaine is injected into the joint space. This solution triggers an immune system response that helps reduce inflammation and stimulate healing. If the knee is arthritic from ligament laxity, allowing for more movement than is ideal, prolotherapy can also be done to the ligaments that support the joint.
The resulting immune system reaction tightens and strengthens the ligaments over time making the joint more stable and reducing the progression of arthritis. Prolozone uses the same solution as in prolotherapy with the addition of ozone gas injected after the prolotherapy solution has been administered. Ozone helps reduce inflammation, reduces pain, kills bacteria and improves cellular metabolism making the immune cells work more efficiently.
Ultrasound guided prolotherapy and prolozone can be a helpful pain relieving treatment for joint pain made more effective when combined with diet, exercise and nutritional supplementation.