By Naturopathic Physicians
Chris Metro ND, MSOM, LAc
Eric Blake ND, Diplomate in Acupuncture
Trained in Naturopathic Injection Therapies including Prolotherapy and Neural Therapy
Natural medicine provides the edge for NFL players to overcome potentially career-ending injuries. Over this past weekend, all sport fans that tuned into the NFL’s season finale of the Super Bowl were treated to an epic football game between two great franchises: the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Arizona Cardinals. Ultimately, the game was decided in the closing minutes of the last quarter, highlighting the incredible athleticism our modern day football heroes must maintain under the grueling physical nature of the sport.
Football players must endure punishing hits like a battering ram while sustaining the dexterity of a ballerina to maintain possession – just like the winning touchdown catch of this year’s Super Bowl by Santonio Holmes of the Pittsburgh Steelers. It is no surprise that several of our greatest athletes play thru injuries to compete at such high levels of sport, and any advantage that can be found in the healing process must be utilized to support the endeavor to compete.
It was with great joy that Hines Ward was able to play for the game on Sunday, and even more interesting to find the team physicians used a technique commonly used in natural medicine today, called prolotherapy, in order for Hines to participate in the Super Bowl.
During the AFC Championship Game, Hines Ward, suffered a knee injury that potentially could have ended his chances of competing two weeks later in the Super Bowl. Many fans inside and outside football recognize the importance of Hines Ward, both to team leadership and to community stewardship – for Ward is one of the more widely recognized athletes in sports today due to his exemplary conduct both on and off the field (not to mention his award-winning smile). With the help of prolotherapy, this on and off the field champion was quickly and safely brought to game playing status with the rapid results that this natural medicine technique provides.
Prolotherapy is a simple, natural technique used to stimulate the body to repair an injury to a ligament or tendon when the natural healing process needs a little assistance. In Hines’ case, he needed a lot of assistance to return from a serious knee injury to top form within two weeks to compete at the Super Bowl, therefore it was important to stimulate the healing process in both a sound and expedient manner. In general practice many naturopathic physicians will use the method for arthritis and degenerated joints, for Hines, this technique was perfectly suited to assist the healing process for an injured knee.
The joints of our body must absorb or withstand tremendous forces with any activity, whether competing in the Super Bowl or in a supermarket parking lot with a bundle of this week’s groceries. Joint integrity is dependent upon the strength and elasticity of the ligaments and tendons, which by nature are like rubber bands. Compared to muscle or nerve tissue, the connective tissue has a limited blood supply and depends upon this blood supply for distribution of nutrients to repair and heal properly. As a result, tendons and ligaments heal more slowly and often become weak lacking their original strength and endurance. Not with prolotherapy.
Prolotherapy takes the root name from the word “proliferation,” because the treatment triggers the proliferation or growth of new connective tissue at the site of injury. Prolotherapy utilizes solutions like dextrose, chemotactic compounds, or in Ward’s case PRP or platelet therapy, which is injected into the injured ligament or tendon to create a localized inflammatory reaction. This localized immune reaction increases the blood supply and flow of nutrients to the connective tissue, which in turn increases the rate of healing with no loss of tissue integrity.
Prolotherapy results in improved circulation to the injured area while initiating a deposition of new collagen, an essential material of ligaments and tendons (collagen is what gives the skeletal structure of children the strength and dexterity we don’t enjoy as we age into adulthood). As the new collagen tightens, the ligament or tendon gains strength – especially at the site of injury where it is needed most. The beauty of prolotherapy rests in the utilization of a simple sugar like dextrose to stimulate the same process that the human body naturally uses to heal itself.
Most of us are not professional athletes, however, prolotherapy can be widely used to assist the general public for muscle tears, arthritis, tennis elbow (tendonitis), back pains, every day aches and sprains, degenerated joints, torn ligaments… just to name a few. Naturopathic physicians and osteopathic physicians commonly use the technique of prolotherapy to assit the healing process and to avoid unnecessary medications and surgical procedures.
So for the rest of us, prolotherapy is a cost effective, safe, and natural approach to healing joints and connective tissue, which can help us all to compete in our regularly scheduled, daily challenges to strive, thrive and provide for ourselves, our families, and our communities. The ability to know how to effectively heal the body, without undue stress, is much greater and no less important than Hines Ward’s remarkable recovery for this year’s Super Bowl.
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The prolotherapy that Hines Ward received is called Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP). Dr. Noel Peterson, an naturopathic physician who graduated from NCNM, wrote a explanatory piece on the subject. It’s everything you’d want to know about (PRP)and how it relates to natural methods of healing:
Regenerative Injection Therapy with Platelet Rich Plasma(PRP)
http://myctm.org/newsletters/2008-q2.php
Ahh, football on the Helfgott blog. Mantastic!
It is good to have this conversation here because immediately after Andrea Kremer reported on this before the game, the blogs went crazy questioning what this therapy is and whether or not it equates to blood doping, which of course it does not. In fact, it is just the opposite really. This therapy is often specifically used as an alternative to steroids/cortisone injections. PRP is the subject of an a “Future Trends” article in the current Clinics in Sport Medicine* and there are many PRP trials, both active** and in the peer reviewed literature***. But I am sure it will be an even hotter topic now thanks to Hines.
It is just too bad that the post-Chuck Knoll Steelers suck and that, just like the Superbowl in which they “beat” my Seahawks, Pittsburgh had to have the ref.s give it to them in the end! Fumble my #@^!
aka KMars
See:
* http://www.sportsmed.theclinics.com/article/S0278-5919(08)00069-0/abstract
** http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/results?term=platelet+rich+plasma
*** http://www.orthohealing.com/news/12178_2008_9032_OnlinePDF.pdf
Hi!
As you know I am currently doing research on PRP and have treated lots of knees using PRP. The mechanism of dextose prolotherapy is two-fold, inflammatory and tissue growth factor release. PRP prolo is all about enhanced growth factor release. as blood platelets are rich source of native tissue growth factors. I use PRP in several cases daily, when degenerative changes are advanced or where we want to utilize the fibrin matrix part of the PRP concentrate to bridge the gap in injured structures.
Referencing my article is a great way to get the details about prolotherapy into the public awareness.
Thanks so much,
Noel
Hello check out the article below, Hines Ward’s knee survived the Super bowl, but his shoulder did not. Just goes to show how great prolotherapy is:
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/s_611152.html
Looking for a Pain Clinic in Minnesota that specializes in Prolotherapy?
The style of writing is quite familiar to me. Did you write guest posts for other bloggers?
How do I contact DR. Noel Peterson, does he come to Pittsburgh to do the Plasma Prolotherapy
Are there any doctors in Pittsburgh that doees this
I have mentioned Prolotherapy to every Doctor whom I have come in contact with for years,all over the country and they look at me as though I am crazy.
I have had 9 major surgeries and only one was sucessful.
Two failed back procedures and pseudogout are the most painful.
Dan
Dr. Gallagher in Greensburg, PA does prolotherapy.