Prolozone Therapy FAQ
What is Prolozone Therapy?
Prolozone therapy is the combination of classical Prolotherapy and Ozone therapy. A small volume of Ozone gas is injected into tendons, ligaments, joint capsules and joint spaces following prolotherapy injections. Adding ozone therapy to classical Prolotherapy injections further supports tissue repair by improving oxygen delivery to damaged or injured tissues, improving circulation, stimulating a cascade of growth factors including platelet derived growth factor (PDGF), transforming growth factor-b1 (TGF-b1), and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). Furthermore, prolozone is especially effective for reducing pain.
Prolozone therapy can be used to address a variety of conditions including, arthritis, osteoarthritis, chronic joint pain, joint instability, spine pain, frozen shoulder and rotator cuff injuries, golfer’s elbow, tennis elbow, degenerative disc disease and others. If you don’t see your health condition listed on the Prolozone page, please contact our office to find out if prolozone therapy can help you.
What is Regenerative Injection Therapy?
Regenerative injection therapies such as: Prolotherapy, Prolozone Therapy, Platelet Rich Plasma, and Stem Cells, are safe, cost effective injection techniques used for treating musculoskeletal injuries and chronic pain in various parts of the body. They are noninvasive, have limited side effects and do not require sedation. Regenerative injection therapies are treatments that provide long term solutions and in many cases should be considered before prolonged narcotic therapy or surgery.
Unlike steroid injections, which act to reduce inflammation, regenerative injection therapies stimulates the growth of cells and therefore repair and strengthen connective tissues such as: tendons, ligaments, articular cartilage, meniscus, and labrum. Since chronic pain is often caused by injury and/or weakness of these structures, regenerative injection therapies can significantly alleviate and often times cure chronic pain by addressing the root cause.
What do you inject during Prolozone Therapy?
Immediately after a prolotherapy injection or a PRP injection, a volume of ozone gas is injected into damaged tissue and/or joints. The injection of ozone into a joint typically does not require a separate injection as the needle can be left in place following the prolotherapy or PRP injection.
Do the injections hurt?
The most common side effects of prolozone therapy are pain, soreness, and a sense of fullness at the injection site. Bruising and mild bleeding from needle trauma may also occur. Pain and soreness post injection are self-limited and typically last 24-72 hours but may last longer. Since the solution contains anesthetics, patients often report an immediate relief of pain. In the rare instance that you experience persistent, unbearable post injection pain please contact Dr. Hibbitts as you may require pain medication and/or further evaluation.
Can I take ibuprofen, aspirin or naproxen?
These over the counter non-steriodal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) may provide pain relief, however they are counter-productive to the repair process that prolozone therapy stimulates and therefore should be avoided. If you feel you need further pain management with medication please discuss this with Dr. Hibbitts and he will recommend the best course of action.
Please note that all NSAIDs should be discontinued 3-4 days prior to injections and abstained from use for another 3-4 days after the treatment.
How do I know if Prolozone therapy is working?
Most patients receive prolozone therapy until they are pain free or achieve an acceptable level of improvement in pain and/or mobility. It is normal to experience waxing and waning of pain and mobility during the course of treatment. Below is a list of signs that prolozone therapy is working:
Pain level and tenderness is decreasing
Clicking or grinding of the joint is decreasing
The amount of pain medication required is decreasing
Function and mobility is increasing
Level of exercise and tolerability are increasing
What if I don’t feel any immediate improvement?
Many patients report improvement in pain and mobility after the first treatment while others require multiple treatments before improvement is seen. Do not be discouraged if you don’t experience improvement after your first injection! It is normal to experience waxing and waning of pain and mobility during the course of treatment. Dr. Hibbitts generally tells his patients to plan on receiving at least three treatments. If you haven’t experienced improvement after multiple treatments you may be reevaluated and other therapies will be considered.
How Many treatments will I need?
The number of treatments varies with each patient and depends on a multitude of factors including severity of injury and the patients overall health. Typically, patients receive between three and eight sessions of prolozone therapy, given at two to six week intervals. Some patients need more treatments and others need less. It is normal to experience waxing and waning of pain and mobility during the course of treatment. Repeated treatments should provide continued repair to damaged or weakened tissues and longer periods of pain relief until maximum improvement is achieved. To help accelerate the repair process other treatments may be used including nutrition, supplements, and exercise.
Can I go back to work after prolozone therapy?
Since prolozone therapy is a relatively quick and noninvasive procedure most patients are able to return to work the next day if not the same day, however this is completely dependent on the individual, the individual’s line of work and how many areas were injected.
What else can help accelerate my healing?
Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) as well as stem cell therapy can be used in combination with prolozone therapy to maximize effects. Aside from regenerative injection therapy, Dr. Hibbitts will perform a thorough intake and evaluation to identify any risk factors that may be preventing you from healing. This may include standard lab testing for hormones, thyroid function and other conditions that effect healing. Prolozone therapy is just one tool used by Dr. Hibbitts to address pain and connective tissue injury. He also uses diet and nutrition, lifestyle modifications, supplements, IV therapy and other treatments.
What are the risks of Prolozone Therapy?
Prolozone therapy and other regenerative injection therapies are extremely safe and have been safely administered to hundreds of thousands of patients. Ozone gas is extremely safe when injected into tissue and or joints. However, inhalation of ozone gas should be avoided and Dr. Hibbitts takes the proper precautions to avoid this. The medications Dr. Hibbitts uses for prolozone therapy are non-toxic, safe and are ubiquitously used in medicine. The most common side effects of prolozone therapy are pain, soreness and a sense of fullness at the injection site. Bruising and mild bleeding from needle trauma may also occur. While all injection procedures are performed with universal precautions and safety measures there is a potential risk for lightheadedness and fainting, allergic reaction, infection, bruising and hematoma. Of these, the most common reaction to injection therapy is lightheadedness and fainting, also known as a vaso-vagal response. Serious adverse events are extremely rare when prolozone therapy is used for treating joints such as the shoulder, elbow, wrist, knee and hip. Dr. Hibbitts has extensive knowledge of musculoskeletal anatomy and has attended numerous injection therapy training courses, assuring the highest level of efficacy and safety of his treatments.
What are the risks of PRP?
PRP and other regenerative injection therapies are extremely safe and have been safely administered to hundreds of thousands of patients The most common side effects of PRP therapy are pain, soreness and a sense of fullness at the injection site. Bruising and mild bleeding from needle trauma may also occur. While all injection procedures are performed with universal precautions and safety measures there is a potential risk for lightheadedness and fainting, allergic reaction, infection, bruising and hematoma. Of these, the most common reaction to injection therapy is lightheadedness and fainting, also known as a vaso-vagal response. Serious adverse events are extremely rare when PRP is used for treating joints such as the shoulder, elbow, wrist, knee and hip. Dr. Hibbitts has extensive knowledge of musculoskeletal anatomy and has attended numerous injection therapy training courses, assuring the highest level of efficacy and safety of his treatments.
Contraindications: Reasons NOT to get Prolozone Therapy
The contraindications for prolozone include acute infection such a cellulitis, abscess and infectious arthritis. Prolozone therapy is not typically used to treat acute injuries such as recent sprains/strains or bone fractures. In addition, allergies to the specific anesthetics used in prolotherapy are absolute contraindications. Dr. Hibbitts will perform a thorough intake and physical exam to ensure you are an appropriate candidate. Please note that if a tendon or ligament is completely torn or if a nerve is pinched surgery is typically warranted.