Sports Injuries

As a former competitive bodybuilder I know full well how annoying injuries can be in your pursuit of a lean, muscular physique. Unfortunately, some of the best options available to fitness enthusiasts are not well known. Prolotherapy and neural therapy are two such examples. Both of these therapies involve injections into the muscle or joint with anesthetic, glucose or homeopathic ingredients.

Neural therapy is different from prolotherapy in that it addresses the nervous system dysfunction that is behind muscle spasms that are causing pain. Spasms often occur from overwork, stress, nutritional deficiency, dehydration and/or joint instability. The most likely cause of chronic spasms is joint instability because the muscles surrounding the joint have to work so much harder during stabilization of the joint. In this case, prolotherapy is the best tool to address the issue. A series of 4-10 treatments over a course of 6 months restores stability in the vast majority of cases. However, it is important to understand that a full ligament rupture will not respond to prolotherapy. Fortunately, this is usually not the case.

Who is a candidate for prolo or neural therapy? Individuals with pain during exercise, where arthritis has been ruled out, likely are candidates to respond favorably to both of these modalities. Appropriate assessment is necessary to discern whether or not you are a candidate for prolo or neural therapy.

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