Reasons to have hope: Combination prolo/PIT,
PRP, and ultrasound exactness
PRP, and ultrasound exactness
There is reason to have hope for control of pain in the most difficult cases. Approximately eighty percent of those who have failed multiple other treatments respond to prolotherapy. The difference in recent years is that, armed with:
● The combination of prolotherapy and perineural injection treatment,
● The power of platelet rich plasma in certain situations, and
● The exactness of treatment with high resolution ultrasound.
more of those that improve are achieving complete resolution of their pain, rather than merely improving, and as advances continue, the improvement rate appears to be increasing further.
In addition, there is hope for those that have previously failed prolotherapy, PRP, and stem cell injections. The differences that allow for success with such patients are several:
● Much more comprehensive treatment approaches in which the entire source of pain is completely identified and treated. This is by including all nerve, ligament, tendon, muscle and joint sources.
● Treating with a combination of prolotherapy and perineural injection simultaneously. (See the General Information page for a basic explanation of the differences.)
● Utilizing ultrasound for all injections except just under the skin, and minimizing contact with the bone surface. This is different than traditional approaches. For many years we have thought we would stimulate more growth and repair by aggressively contacting the surface of bone while injecting. However, I have become convinced that small nerve irritation is part of what keeps chronic pain going, and I am recommending gentle bone contact, which ultrasound allows. This avoids irritation of small nerves that cover our bone surfaces in the process of treatment and allows for a more comfortable recovery period. "No pain, no gain," does not appear to be correct any longer in my experience.
● Using anesthetic with dextrose for superficial and deeper numbing, and the use of oral pain medication and oral relaxant medication make the treatment so much more comfortable that comprehensive treatment is feasible. There are those who do not tolerate narcotics. However, by providing IV fluid and making other adjustments, we can usually overcome tolerance difficulties, and there are other approaches as well that can be utilized.
● The combination of prolotherapy and perineural injection treatment,
● The power of platelet rich plasma in certain situations, and
● The exactness of treatment with high resolution ultrasound.
more of those that improve are achieving complete resolution of their pain, rather than merely improving, and as advances continue, the improvement rate appears to be increasing further.
In addition, there is hope for those that have previously failed prolotherapy, PRP, and stem cell injections. The differences that allow for success with such patients are several:
● Much more comprehensive treatment approaches in which the entire source of pain is completely identified and treated. This is by including all nerve, ligament, tendon, muscle and joint sources.
● Treating with a combination of prolotherapy and perineural injection simultaneously. (See the General Information page for a basic explanation of the differences.)
● Utilizing ultrasound for all injections except just under the skin, and minimizing contact with the bone surface. This is different than traditional approaches. For many years we have thought we would stimulate more growth and repair by aggressively contacting the surface of bone while injecting. However, I have become convinced that small nerve irritation is part of what keeps chronic pain going, and I am recommending gentle bone contact, which ultrasound allows. This avoids irritation of small nerves that cover our bone surfaces in the process of treatment and allows for a more comfortable recovery period. "No pain, no gain," does not appear to be correct any longer in my experience.
● Using anesthetic with dextrose for superficial and deeper numbing, and the use of oral pain medication and oral relaxant medication make the treatment so much more comfortable that comprehensive treatment is feasible. There are those who do not tolerate narcotics. However, by providing IV fluid and making other adjustments, we can usually overcome tolerance difficulties, and there are other approaches as well that can be utilized.
Despair is a common feeling of patients when first seen
Because I practice comprehensive treatment, and see very complex and difficult patients, often from considerable distance, I often see patients in despair of ever getting better, at times to the point of questioning if life is worth living any more. It has been a joy to see those patients improve. However, my concern is a tendency for these patients to feel hopeless and to question if there is a God, or if so, if God really cares. Some people even have the depressing and mistaken notion that their pain is a "punishment" in some way for something that they have done wrong.
Successful pain treatment and faith BOTH help encourage patients
I have put together some information meant to encourage faith in a God who cares tremendously, and as a scientist, I find the evidence for just such a God compelling. It has been my aim to make this very readable, and I invite you to take a look by clicking on "faith encouragement" below to open up that part of this web site.
Kind regards,
Dr Reeves
Kind regards,
Dr Reeves
