A few tested dextrose solutions that also contained anesthetics like lidocaine or ropivacaine. Clinicians might inject corticosteroids or hyaluronic acid, which is similar to a lubricant found naturally in joints.“Studies are needed to conclude which injection therapy should be given higher priority in routine clinical care,” Sit added. (Photo: Pixabay) An alternative medicine approach to joint pain that typically uses injections of sugar or sodium may be worth trying for knee osteoarthritis after traditional approaches fail, a recent review suggests. Participants reported improvements in pain, function and range of motion with prolotherapy and also reported high levels of satisfaction with the treatment.Results from these studies, which had a total of 529 patients, suggest that prolotherapy may be a safe way to help ease pain from knee osteoarthritis.Researchers examined data from 10 previous studies of what’s known as prolotherapy, which is often used for chronic back pain.But these small studies had such different designs and patient populations that it wasn’t possible to do a pooled analysis of all data from all the studies to determine if there was a meaningful benefit in a larger group of people, researchers report in the British Medical Bulletin.Across all of the studies that Maffulli and colleagues reviewed, most tested injections containing dextrose (a sugar), and two combined dextrose and sodium.
It should always be part of a holistic management plan, with weight reduction, activity changes, and physiotherapy.”Ideal patients for prolotherapy might include people with mild to moderate knee osteoarthritis who don’t get relief from medication or physical therapy, Maffulli added. Most studies didn’t report what’s known as an effect size, or how much more pain relief people got from prolotherapy than from no treatment or from other interventions.None of the studies reported dangerous side effects from prolotherapy, and the researchers note that the solutions injected may not cost much or be difficult to administer. Joint injections are a common approach for this type of pain, Sit added. While it can’t be cured, physical therapy or anti-inflammatory medications are often prescribed to relieve pain and improve mobility.The solutions injected may not cost much or be difficult to administer and can be used as disposer an alternative The prolotherapy should be tried as a first line therapy only if traditional methods are ineffective.
