Many people who experience a whiplash injury from a motor vehicle accident, workplace incident, or sports injury never fully heal from the soft tissue damage. Unfortunately, incomplete healing leads to chronic pain that can persist for years. Whiplash injuries result in stretching and/or tearing of connective tissues like ligaments and tendons. These connective tissues provide stability in the joints, promote proper joint function, and allow muscles to relax. If the connective tissues are damaged from a whiplash injury they should be treated as part of a therapeutic strategy to correct the causes of the resulting chronic pain.
Prolotherapy is a therapeutic technique used to decrease or eliminate pain by improving joint stability and function. Prolotherapy promotes the regrowth and strengthening of ligaments and tendons that play a crucial role in stabilizing the joints of the body. Prolotherapy involves the injection of dextrose, a local anaesthetic, and vitamin B12 designed to stimulate the body’s own healing mechanisms. Prolotherapy stimulates the body’s own immune system to naturally re-grow and strengthen the ligaments and connective tissues that play a crucial role in the integrity of each joint.
To have a reliable body you need the following 3 components: strong bones, strong muscles, and strong connective tissues. For most people, the root problem is not with the bones or the muscles, it is actually with the connective tissues that hold the joints in place. When the connective tissues are treated with prolotherapy the weakened joints become stronger and more stable and thus pain is decreased or eliminated.
A thorough orthopedic exam by a doctor trained in connective tissue health is required to assess whether or not prolotherapy will be able to reduce your pain and improve your function. It typically takes between 3-6 treatments for optimal connective tissue improvement but results may vary from person to person.
