What to Expect: The Prolotherapy Treatment Process
Your first visit
When you arrive for your first prolotherapy appointment, Dr. Franchi begins with a physical examination to confirm that prolotherapy is the right treatment for your specific condition. He may want you to provide an X-ray to rule out any other source of pain that prolotherapy cannot address. The first visit typically takes 15 to 30 minutes.
The injection
Dr. Franchi uses a sterile technique and injects a solution of 50% dextrose and 2% lidocaine wherever the tear in the ligament or tendon happens to be. The lidocaine numbs the area during and immediately after the injection. You will typically be pain-free for one to two hours following treatment. Some soreness returns as the lidocaine wears off and may last up to a day. This is a normal part of the healing response, not a sign of a problem. Ice and Tylenol are recommended for post-treatment discomfort. Do not take NSAIDs (ibuprofen, naproxen) as these suppress the healing response the treatment relies on.
After your first visit, Dr. Franchi has a good sense of your personal situation and your problem. Subsequent visits can take as little as five minutes.
How many treatments
Patients should expect to receive a total of between three to five injections, typically one week apart. If needed, the treatments may be slightly lengthened and/or shortened. It depends on the circumstances and what part of the body is being treated. Based on many years of experience, Dr. Franchi will give you an estimate at your first consultation and will reassess as your treatment progresses.
Returning to activity
You can resume normal daily activities and drive immediately after treatment. For exercise and physically demanding work, Dr. Franchi will advise you on modifications during the treatment period based on the area being treated.
When you will feel results
Prolotherapy works by stimulating tissue repair – a gradual biological process. Most patients notice meaningful improvement after their second or third treatment. Full results are typically apparent two to three months after completing the treatment series. Because the improvement reflects actual structural repair, it is lasting.
Call 833-Go-Prolo (833-467-7656) or 781-299-7521. Boston Prolotherapy and Orthopedics, 92 Montvale Avenue, Suite 4650, Stoneham, MA.
Walk me through the process.
When you come in, I examine you to make sure that prolotherapy is indicated. I may take an x-ray to make sure there’s not some other source of your pain that I can’t solve. Then, we use sterile technique, and I use a 50% dextrose solution with lidocaine so it doesn’t hurt as much. I give the injections in the appropriate areas.
The first office visit takes 15-30 minutes. But after that, once we know your problem, you could be in and out of the office in five minutes. I start my office hours at 7:00 a.m.
How do you know where to inject?
A lot of that comes with experience. I’ve had the advantage of being a classically trained orthopedic surgeon. So, I’ve seen the anatomy of 1000’s of people from the inside. So I tend to know where things are. I have very good eye-hand coordination and skills, to know where the tendons are supposed to be. So I can coordinate that with my judgment.
You have to apply the needle to the ligament/bone interface – where the ligament inserts into to the bone. You have to know where that is, and you have to know how deep to go with the needle. Obviously, experience counts.