Integrative Veterinary Center

Veterinary Prolotherapy

Prolotherapy, also known as nonsurgical ligament reconstruction, is a medical treatment for chronic pain. "Prolo" is short for proliferation, because the treatment causes the proliferation (growth, formation) of new connective tissue in areas where it has become weak. Prolotherapy is primarily used to treat joint pain, and has been clinically shown to increase joint ligament strength by 30-40% in humans. Clinical results using prolotherapy in dogs and cats appear to indicate the same response. Many elite human athletes use prolotherapy to strengthen their weak ligamentous tissues to prevent against future tears and injury.

Prolotherapy involves the treatment of weak or torn tendons and ligaments. A tendon attaches muscle to bone, and ligaments connect bone to bone, both are important for the stability and normal movement of joints. How prolotherapy works is simple. A proliferant (collagen producing solution) is injected into the affected ligaments or tendons causing a localized inflammation which “turns on” the healing process and directly stimulates the growth of new collagen to strengthen damaged and weak ligament and tendon tissue. As the tendons and ligaments grow stronger and more capable of supporting and maintaining normal joint stability, the pain is alleviated.

Prolotherapy may also be performed using ozone in addition to proliferant substances. Ozone is a highly reactive molecule and when injected into the injured and weak soft tissue is able to stimulate the production of new collagen that is needed to repair them. This technique is called prolozone and is used depending on the indivdual case.

Prolotherapy is helpful for many different types of chronic musculoskeletal pain including: arthritis, degenerative joint disease, torn ligaments, tendons and cartilage, tendonitis, back pain, neck pain, partially degenerated or herniated inter-vertebral disks. Prolotherapy can be performed on both dogs and cats, however it is used most commonly in middle aged to geriatric dogs. Most owners report a 50-80% reduction in pain within the first two treatments. The type of patient for which prolotherapy is appropriate include but is not limited to:

animals with chronic osteoarthritis pain that involves one or more joints, often these animals have lameness involving the front and rear legs

geriatric animals with chronic arthritis or joint pain that are a high anesthetic risk
animals with injury or tears of one or both anterior cruciate ligaments; prolotherapy treatment can protect the cruciate ligament in the non-surgical leg from rupture in cases where one ligament has already been repaired

animals post-surgery with genetic orthopedic disease (hip, shoulder and elbow dysplasia) and chronic lameness and pain despite surgical correction

performance animals (agility, working dogs) with ligament or tendon injuries

animals that are sensitive or have adverse reactions to conventional pain medications (Rimadyl, Dermaxx etc), or for which pain medications are ineffective

Prolotherapy is not a subsitute for surgery; not all animals are candidates for this type of medical procedure. Each case is evaluated on an individual basis, and an examination is required to determine if prolotherapy is an appropriate therapy for your pet.

Conditions treated with prolotherapy include: carpal/tarsal ligament sprain, arthritis, degenerative joint disease, canine hip dysplasia, elbow, shoulder and stifle dysplasia and anterior cruciate ligament tears of the knee.

For more information see: www.montanaim.com/prolotherapy.html and www.prolotherapy.org
Recommended reading: Prolo Your Pain Away by Ross Hauser

Prolotherapy FAQ