No referral is required to book in and receive prolotherapy treatment.

Although imaging can be helpful, it is not necessary to receive prolotherapy treatment. Orthopedic testing and pain/injury history will be completed prior to receiving any injections.

Dextrose and a local anesthetic (either procaine or lidocaine). Depending on the injury and symptom picture, AMP (adenosine monophosphate) or vitamin B12 may be added as well.

Depending on how much damage is present, prolotherapy can be painful during the treatment. Often the most painful part is the needle insertion, followed by a pressure sensation. Once the anesthetic kicks in, the area will feel numb for about 30-40 minutes. Once the anesthetic wears off, the area injected may feel achy and sore. This achiness and soreness typically only lasts for a few hours, but can last up to 24 hours.

On average, 6 treatments are needed, but I have had patients who have only needed 2, or upwards of 10. The research in this area states that 2-10 treatments are required to achieve an 80% reduction in pain. Based on clinical experience, typically 6-8 appointments are needed to get to 95% pain reduction. Maintenance appointments are only needed for degenerative joint conditions such as osteoarthritis and degenerative disk disease.

The main mechanism of action of prolotherapy is the signaling of your immune system to address the area of damaged tissue. We are purposely causing some micro-trauma in the area of concern, and telling repair cells to go to the area of concern, and start the healing cascade. Dextrose specifically has many different mechanisms of action, one of which is the binding of it to the TrpV1 receptor on nerve cells to decrease neural inflammation and pain. It is also one of the building blocks of connective tissue, so it allows us to treat your pain AND the root cause at the same time.

No, prolotherapy has been around since the 1930s. Various irritant substances have been used to stimulate the immune system, but research has shown that dextrose is the safest and most effective.

Very few practitioners have been trained in this treatment. It is not something that is taught in conventional or naturopathic medical schools, but rather requires further education and many hours of practice to become proficient.

Prolotherapy can be performed using palpation guidance and a thorough understanding of anatomy. In some areas, like wrists, ankles, and the spine, it is helpful to add ozone gas to the treatment, which disperses the fluid to all the areas it is needed, without direct needle contact.

Ozone treatments are covered under extended health, under the discipline of naturopathic medicine.

Ozone (O3) combines with water (H2O) in the body to make Oxygen (O2) and Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). Increasing oxygen concentration in the body helps with many health concerns including viral, bacterial and fungal infections, regeneration, concussions, tissue regeneration, and improved performance.