Peri**There were a few threads on prolo in the archives of this board, but, based on search engine, they don't seem still to be here.
I haven't had it, but considered it, and looked through the older postings a while back. What I recall are "mixed reviews." The people who had success, as I remember, were more likely to be people with clear SI hypermobility problems. But a few others as well. I don't recall discussion of negative experiences beyond the discomfort of the shots and not getting improvement. No doubt there are some more serious complications out there, as with everything.
I also recall that there are different "theories" about how many shots per session are appropriate**with a very large range of views in terms of numbers.
Whoops**I was wrong. I did another search on the "all boards" level and there are quite a few threads on prolo from this board that are accessible that way. They ask the same questions as you did.
Thanks Standingman,
I read through some of those archives and indeed looks like mixed reviews. I guess we won't rush in to anything yet. Helpful though, to see what others say and not just get the information from the clinics that do the procedure!
One article I read elsewhere on the internet said that there is no established protocol for the procedure, hence the wide variation in numbers of injections and frequency. I can easily see how this too would impact the wide range of success.
I've had five of six prolo sessions with a traditional pain M.D. who ran out of all other options. He does it free as part of my office visits.
It HAS stabilized SI, ligament, sacral areas where I felt tears (it felt like my left SI was holding on by a thread). My pain is now limited to the base of my spine. A dynamic/kinetic MRI showed that I still have a partial ligament rupture at L5-S1 (the interspinous ligament) so I am going to have him focus there on the last session or two. (If I can get him to do more than six).
In the hands of someone who gives a lot of injections in the lumbar area (i.e., won't hit the sciatic nerve!), prolo is safe. It hasn't been a cure for me, alas. Also, you often have to travel far for a professional prolotherapist and they charge a lot $450/session. I'd recommend Reeves in KC; he seems to be the most "scientific" and has published the most.
I have had Prolotherapy with Dr. Lawrence Cohen in Danbury, CT. I consider it a complete success as I am completely pain-free at this point! After 4 months of extreme pain in my lower back and left leg/foot, I was told by my neurosurgeon that I had no other choice than to have fusion surgery to correct the spondylolysis st the L5-S1 level. I had tried acupuncture, chiropractor, narcotics, epidural steriod injections (1) with no pain relief. The second ESI gave relief so I had a window of time to try Prolotherapy. Dr. Cohen found I also had a rotated pelvis which was causing pain from my SI joint on the left side. Within days of a realignment of my pelvis and first Prolotherapy injections, my pain diminished almost completely. After my second set of injections, the pain was gone. I am still going in for injections to further stabilize my spine and pelvis but other than being stiff for a couple of days following the injections, I am pain-free. ***** is a great website for more information on prolotherapy.
Joni N.
Last edited by hbguide1; 12-23-2003 at 03:47 PM.
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I have had six treatments and have experienced much improvement. However, I still have pain at L5-S1. I saw a world-leading radiologist in NY who did a fat-suppressed MRI (cutting-edge new technology) and said I had a ligament rupture there. I wonder if prolo can CAUSE ruptures, too and am now worried.
Anyone have experience with prolotherapy? 
