Prolotherapy for Shoulder Pain?

Question

I have a rotator cuff injury - not drastic, but it's keeping me from training martial arts as strenuously as I would like. Chiroractic treatment has helped a lot, but still there is some popping in my shoulder joint, and I am considering checking into prolotherapy. Anyone have positive or negative results from prolotherapy - especially for shoulder pain? Thanks for any information.

Answer 1

I do not know your full history but if you have any kind of stability issues chiropractic is not the route to go especially if they are performing manipulations on your shoulder. While this may feel good in the short term it can cause more problems in the future because it will only cause you to become more mobile and thus more unstable. Since you have an injury to your rotator cuff this increased mobility will cause those muscles to work harder and may overload them therefore leading to another possible injury.

Have you seen an orthopedic doctor? Physical therapist specialized in orthopedics?

Prolotherapy is where an injection is used to irritate the surrounding tissues thus causing the inflammation process to start and thus healing. It is a newer procedure and I am not aware of any research that demonstrates its efficacy for improving stability of the shoulder which is most likely the reason for having it done.

Answer 2

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Answer 3

Prolotherapy is not new like the PT said. It has been around since Hippocrates and he actually used it to treat shoulders of olympic javalin throwers. The shoulder would miraculously heal after being stuck with a hot poker! No studies on the shoulder at this time. However, it has been proven to tighten, strengthen and repair tendons and ligaments in both animals and humans. There are many studies proving the efficacy. If you believe that your body has some healing powers, it simply "proliferates" that healing process. I think it is to simple for most doctors to understand. Avoid surgery at all cost unless you have a full thickness tear which is rare. Seek an experienced doctor who has training.

Answer 4

If you have a minor rotator cuff problem, you will likely do well with a relatively short course of physical therapy to enhance your ability to stabilize the shoulder and to improve the alignment of the shoulder joint. A visit to your physician would also be useful (probably) for anti-inflammatory drugs - and a prescription for PT!
Good luck!