Prolotherapy

It may sound rather new-age, however, prolotherapy could soon be your go-to treatment for musculoskeletal complaints. When ligaments or tendons in your foot and ankle are torn, overstretched or inflamed, the whole stability of your foot and joints are compromised. So as a natural and non-surgical therapy, our highly qualified podiatrists at Brighton Road Podiatry may recommend prolotherapy for common complaints such as arthritic pain, plantar fasciitis, Achilles tendonitis, heel pain and ankle injuries.

The science behind prolotherapy

The key idea of prolotherapy is to trigger your body’s natural healing responses by injecting a solution of glucose and sterile water into the site of damaged foot tissues. The solution irritates the tissues, triggering your body to go into ‘repair mode’ and start working to regrow healthy tissues in the joints, ligaments and tendons. Sounds complex? Our podiatrists have years of experience treating foot and ankle pain using prolotherapy, and we’ll happily go through the ins and outs of your treatment until you feel confident to proceed.

What to expect during treatment

After a thorough consultation to discuss your condition and treatment options, our podiatrists may recommend prolotherapy as the best course of action. Our experienced podiatrist will administer a local anaesthetic for your comfort and inject the solution into the site of the pain. A treatment plan of 3 or more injections, scheduled several weeks apart, is generally needed for optimal results.

As this is a regenerative therapy, the results are not instantaneous, and your foot can feel slightly inflamed in the days after. However, over the next 6-8 weeks your body will be working hard behind the scenes to regrow healthy tissues in the foot, leading to long term pain relief and happy feet.

Cortisone v Prolotherapy

Before you agree to a standard cortisone injection for your pain or inflammation, consider these key points:

• Cortisone suppresses the immune system and inhibits the natural growth hormone.
• Prolotherapy promotes stronger bones, muscles and tendons, while cortisone promotes the opposite.
• Prolotherapy is effective for arthritic pain, whereas long term cortisone use causes more arthritic damage.
• Cortisone may be a quick fix, but leads to long term tissue weakness.

The advantages of prolotherapy are clear, and while you may not be familiar with the therapy, luckily our Brighton Road Podiatry team are! Put your feet in our expert hands and call for a consultation today. Getting you back on your feet is what we do best.