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Rebuilding Collagen:
The Key to Prolotherapy
Ligament
Laxity
Inflammation
PART ONE OF
ARTICLE<<<
In all cases that require
Prolotherapy,
the ligaments and tendons, whether through
the use of anti-inflammatories, or because
of a weakened immune system, or because
of the severity of the injury, did not
heal sufficiently.
When things do not heal correctly, not only
is there chronic pain, but now inflammation,
initially our friend, also becomes chronic
and bothersome.
Injured, loose, or stretched out ligaments
are often referred to as ligament
relaxation, or ligament laxity. This is what
produces the pain and discomfort, especially
with movement. Because of the laxity, the
joint may move beyond its normal range of
motion.
Referred Pain
Pain will not only occur at the site of the
injury and loose ligaments, but may also be
referred to other parts of the body.
Referred pain is created by ligament laxity
around a joint, but is felt at some distance
from the injury. These painful points that
refer pain elsewhere are called
trigger
points, and will be dealt with later.
Abnormal joint movement also creates many
"protective actions" by adjacent tissues.
Muscles will contract in spasm in an attempt
to pull the joint back to the correct
location or stabilize it to protect it from
further damage.
When this occurs in the back, orthopedic
surgeons will often try to reduce vertebral
instability by fusing the vertebrae
with bone and/or metal fixation. But
there is often an easier and more conservative
way to achieve the same stabilization.
And this is the outcome of
Prolotherapy.
Unfortunately, this is where chronic
problems begin, because the conventional
medical practice with its emphasis on pain
relief, treats the symptom—pain, and not the
problem—laxity. A patient will likely be
told to take anti-inflammatory drugs, which
is often precisely the wrong thing to do
because inflammation is the first part in
the body's healing process.
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories (NSAIDS)
and cortisone (an anti-inflammatory steroid)
can give immediate relief, but with a risk
of creating a long-term injury with chronic
pain.
By blocking inflammation, anti-inflammatories
never allow complete healing, and instead,
aggravate the situation.
Inflammation and the Healing Process
If we allow the inflammation process to run
its cycle without interference, we see that
inflammation leads to granular tissue
formation that results in new collagen
tissue being created. The new collagen forms
new threads, which attach themselves to the
damaged tissue.
New collagen fibers are short, they
lose water and shrink, and as they attach
themselves to the old ligament, muscle,
joint capsule, or tendon, these tissues
become more dense. Denser tissue is
stronger tissue. This process is much
like the scab on a wound or scar that
tightens up and shrinks once healing
occurs. The difference is that with
Prolotherapy,
biopsies have shown brand new, beautiful
tissue without evidence of scarring.
In essence, the tissue is healed, rejuvenated
and made stronger than before.
The Science Behind
the Regrowth of Collagen with Prolotherapy
As we have noted, the collagen in our
bodies, especially in the tissue around and
near our joints, is prone to breakdown. We
subject our joints to wear and tear through
repetitive movement, injury, accident or any
other number of reasons. Because the
connective tissue around our joints and
cartilage have poor blood circulation,
conventional treatment maintained that any
injury to connective tissue was often
irreparable. This was before a study
conducted by Y. King Liu.
In a 1983 study of Prolotherapy's
effectiveness,
Y. King Liu injected five
percent sodium morrhuate solution into the
medial collateral ligaments of rabbits. He
found that after five
injections, the
ligament mass increased by 44 percent, the
thickness by 27 percent, and the strength of
the ligament bone junction increased by 28
percent(1).
Continue>>>
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