Joint pain can leave you on the sidelines, watching life instead of participating. When over-the-counter medications and other therapies fail to curb the pain, you may feel frustrated and unsure where to turn for long-lasting pain relief.
At Long Island Spine Rehabilitation Medicine, our outstanding physicians focus on helping you ease joint pain by providing targeted therapies and treatments specific to your needs. Two effective treatment options for chronic joint pain include prolotherapy and PRP. Which one is right for your joint pain? We’ll break down the different therapies here.
What Is Prolotherapy?
Prolotherapy is a non-surgical pain treatment that helps alleviate chronic pain while stimulating tissue repair. Prolotherapy involves injecting a natural, dextrose-based irritant into painful joints, ligaments, or tendons. Although it sounds counterproductive to introduce an irritant into already painful joints, the dextrose-based irritant triggers the body’s natural immune and healing response system, thereby promoting the growth of new and healthy tissue. By controlling the inflammatory response, prolotherapy can help the body slowly repair and regrow damaged tissues and reduce pain in the affected area.
Prolotherapy is an excellent pain relief option because it is non-invasive, can treat various musculoskeletal conditions, and reduces pain and inflammation over time. Patients may also experience improved function and range of motion.
What Is PRP?
PRP stands for platelet-rich plasma therapy, a relative newcomer to regenerative medicine. This therapy utilizes a patient’s own blood to stimulate the body to heal damaged tissues. In PRP therapy, blood gets drawn from the patient, and platelets are separated from the rest of the blood. Platelets are tiny cells that help the blood clot when you get a cut. They are nature’s bandages rich in chemicals that promote growth and manage inflammation.
Platelet-rich blood can contain as many as five to ten times the number of platelets as the blood circulating through a patient’s body normally. This platelet-rich blood is then injected into painful areas to help stimulate and support the body’s healing and recovery abilities, minimizing pain and inflammation. PRP can help manage pain and inflammation, stimulate collagen production, and speed wound healing.
Prolotherapy vs. PRP: Which Is Right for Your Joint Pain?
Both therapeutic techniques are non-invasive and can help manage pain and inflammation in joints and other body areas. So, how do you know which treatment option offers you the best chance to reduce joint pain and live a more active lifestyle?
First, your doctor will consider the underlying cause of your joint pain. Prolotherapy tends to be a fantastic option for those who suffer from osteoarthritis, lower back pain, and ligament injuries. PRP is generally recommended for people with chronic joint injuries caused by disease, aging, or significant wear and tear on the joints, such as tennis elbow, golfer’s elbow, osteoarthritis, and spinal stenosis. It may also be appropriate for MCL tears and rotator cuff injuries.
You may also want to consider the number of injections required to experience the anti-inflammation and pain-reduction effects of these treatments. Often, PRP therapy involves fewer injections than prolotherapy. However, you will have to sit for a blood draw, and PRP therapy may also be more costly than prolotherapy. While both therapies are considered safe, people may experience side effects such as mild swelling and pain at the injection site.
Schedule an Appointment to Learn More About Your Joint Pain Options
The best way to determine the proper procedure for treating your chronic joint pain is to talk to an experienced Long Island Spine and Rehabilitation Medicine physician. We take a “whole person” approach to treating joint pain. We understand how chronic pain can infiltrate and affect every aspect of your life, including your sleep quality, mood, and activity level. We focus on strategies that reduce pain with innovative treatment options while offering compassionate care and support.
Contact our team today to schedule an appointment at one of our conveniently located offices.