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Dr. Jon Trister M.D ________________________________________________________________________________________ Back pain? Neck pain? Joint pain? Learn to “Prolo” your Connective Tissue! What is Prolotherapy? Prolotherapy is a minimally invasive injection technique that can be used to heal many causes of chronic musculoskeletal pain such as neck pain, low back pain and other joint pain. The exciting aspect to recognizing that stretched or loosened connective tissue is often the root-cause of back, neck or joint pain is that these problems are eminently treatable with a simple and safe technique called Prolotherapy. This technique stimulates the body to heal damaged ligaments and tendons and thereby permanently cure the most common cause of chronic pain. Prolotherapy, also known as Non-Surgical Ligament Reconstruction, is a safe, effective, minimally invasive injection technique that has been around for over 50 years. Dr. George Hackett M.D., a pioneer in the field, first coined the term “Prolotherapy” in the 50’s. The word derives from the Latin “proles” which refers to the stimulation of growth. Prolotherapy involves the injection of weakened and/or stretched ligaments with a sugar solution or other natural “proliferant” substance. The solution, which is injected with a very thin needle at the precise points of tissue damage, sets up a local proliferative reaction that increases the blood flow to damaged ligaments. Immune cells can then clean up the debris and fibroblasts can move in and rebuild healthy fibroelastic tissue and restore damaged connective tissue to its’ original strength. Studies show an approximate 40% increase in connective tissue strength with Prolotherapy. Does Prolotherapy Work? Prolotherapy has substantial evidence to prove its effectiveness and it is currently being used in five university centers. Nearly 100 studies over the last 60 years have demonstrated an approximate 85% success rate in dealing with chronic pain of musculoskeletal origin. Dr. Hackett was able to demonstrate an amazing 82% improvement rate on a series of 1600 patients with low back pain that he followed from 2-12 years. Ongley, another physician, ran a study in the 60’s where he compared prolotherapy to placebo. Six months after the injections, 87.5% of the Prolo group had improved 50% or more, versus 39% in the placebo group. This is one of the only studies ever done that shows such a dramatic difference between two treatment approaches for low back pain. Dr. C. Everett Koop, our former U.S. Surgeon General, considers Prolotherapy as “an effective and useful technique that deserves much more recognition by the conventional medical community”. Dr. Koop had firsthand experience with Prolotherapy as he had used it to cure his own longstanding back pain that had failed to respond to conventional treatment modalities. He also commented that “The nice thing about Prolotherapy, if properly done, is that it cannot do any harm.” What Problems can Prolotherapy treat? A wide array of conditions can be successfully treated with Prolotherapy. Whether the cause of the pain is an injury such as an auto-, sports- or work-related accident or a degenerative condition such as arthritis or degenerative disc disease, the root-cause of these problems can often be traced back to damaged or weakened connective tissue. Prolotherapy has a doctor-proven track record in the treatment of many medical conditions including back pain, whiplash, neck pain, headaches, TMJ pain, rotator cuff injuries, tennis/golfer’s elbow, knee or hip pain as well as problems involving the wrist, ankle or foot. Is Prolo safe and what are the side-effects? As long as the Prolotherapy is done by a properly trained medical doctor (i.e. M.D. or D.O.), Prolo is an extremely safe procedure. Patients should make sure that the medical doctor has had postgraduate education with either the AAOM (American Association of Orthopedic Medicine) or the AOAS (American Osteopathic Academy of Sclerotherapy). In addition, patients might also inquire who the doctor trained with. Bear in mind that although Prolo/ Reconstructive Therapy has been around for over 50 years, there are currently only about 200 medical doctors across the U.S. who offer this treatment. As far as side-effects, the main concern is possible allergic reaction to the anesthetic used in the injections (xylocaine), which is actually quite rare. The only common side-effect is that the shots can be sore and the site of injection may remain sore for a couple of days after the injections. Most patients report that this discomfort is much less bothersome than their usual pain and even if they have a slight increase in discomfort for a few days, it is well worth it if they have a good chance at getting rid of their pain once and for all. To make the shots more comfortable, most doctors numb the skin with a topical anesthetic. Why is Prolo so little known? The natural question is why should a simple, safe treatment that has an amazing success rate of being able to substantially improve chronic pain in about 85% of cases, be so little known in medical circles? The reason demands an appreciation for the politics of medicine and how it molds the practice of medicine. Since the injected materials are largely natural medications they cannot be patented and therefore no large pharmaceutical concern will support and promote the study and practice of Prolotherapy. It is also true that Prolotherapy can often preclude the need for surgery, not making the treatment too popular in orthopedic surgery and neurosurgery circles. Nevertheless, I believe that Prolotherapy will eventually take its rightful place in medicine. Orthopedics will treat bony problems, Neurosurgery will treat nerve and spinal cord disorders and Prolotherapy/Reconstructive Therapy will address connective tissue problems. How long does it take to get better? Since Prolotherapy depends on the body’s healing response, tissues can take anywhere from 6-8 weeks to heal. On average, patients will require from four to six sessions to treat a given area of pain and connective tissue damage. Although patients often experience relief in the first week or two after the shots, it may very well take them several treatments over a two month period before they achieve their desired level of pain relief. It is important to bear in mind that the primary goal of Prolo is not immediate pain relief but rather to address the rootcause of the pain and restore the natural anatomy by stimulating the body to rebuild damaged connective tissue. This is a natural healing process that can take Mother Nature a couple of months to complete. However, once this process is complete, the patient will often be painfree. Since new connective tissue is being created, the results have to be considered as permanent. ________________________________________________________________________________________ Dr. Jon Trister, Board Certified in Internal Medicine. Dr. Jon Trister specializes in Internal Medicine, Orthopedic Medicine, Medical Acupuncture, & Spinal Cord Injury Medicine. Training: Internal Medicine- Saint Vincent Hospital, Worcester MA, USA Spinal Cord Injury Medicine Fellowship VA Medical Center-Harvard Medical School, USA. Orthopedic Medicine- Numerous educational courses and symposiums, USA Medical Acupuncture- UCLA, USA General Surgery & Orthopedic Surgery- Ukraine and Russia. Dr. Trister is a member of: ● The American Medical Association ● American Association of Orthopedic Medicine ● The American Academy of Medical Acupuncture The Vernon Medical Center Dr. Jon Trister, M.D. 10 Winthrop Street Worcester MA Phone-(508)754-9950 Fax-(508)754-2592 Visit us on the web at www.jontristermd.com _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ *If you have a friend or acquaintance with chronic pain, please feel free to print out this brochure and pass it on. *For more information or to schedule a consultation please call (508)754-9950