REGENERATIVE AND SOFT TISSUE INJECTIONS
At VITALIZE Natural Medicine, we offer cutting-edge regenerative injection treatments to stimulate enhanced healing in injured or weakened ligaments, tendons, and joints. These injections may be beneficial for people suffering from pain, joint instability and osteoarthritis.
Ligaments and tendons generally have a poor blood supply which is why incomplete healing is common after an injury. Regenerative injections can stimulate the body’s own healing response in the injured area, providing a healthier alternative to surgery, pain medications, and anti-inflammatory injections like cortisone or other steroidal medications.
We currently offer the following regenerative injections:
PROLOTHERAPY
Prolotherapy has been used for decades to stimulate the healing of damaged ligaments, tendons, and joints, thereby decreasing pain and restoring optimal function. This powerful treatment option is both affordable and minimally invasive, helping many to avoid the need for surgery. Downtime is minimal, allowing patients to quickly and safely return to their active lifestyles. Prolotherapy is often performed as a series of injections, spaced out over weeks or months. It is effective for both recent and old injuries and most patients tolerate the treatments well.
How it works
Prolotherapy involves injecting dextrose along with an anesthetic into the damaged area — usually a ligament, tendon or joint. This solution causes a mild, localized inflammatory response which activates the body’s powerful healing process. This stimulates the growth of new and thicker ligaments, tendons and/or cartilage in the damaged area. The stronger and healthier tissue provides the patient with a more stable joint, helping to alleviate pain and discomfort.
Common conditions improved by Prolotherapy and/or PRP injections:
- Sports injuries (e.g. rotator cuff tear, tennis/golfer’s elbow, Achilles tendonitis)
- Knee & shoulder pain
- Joint instability
- Ligament injuries
- Osteoarthritis
- TMJ
PLATELET-RICH PLASMA (PRP)
Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) is a next-level regenerative therapy, popularized by its high success rates with professional athletes. PRP is extracted from your own blood to isolate the powerful growth factors present in platelets. Therefore, it is highly effective and patients often see fast results and may only require a few treatments. PRP is typically used over other regenerative injections when the injury is more severe or there is osteoarthritis in the joint.
What is Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP)?
Platelets are more commonly known for their role in blood clotting and wound healing. When soft tissue is injured, platelets are recruited to the injury site where they release numerous growth factors essential to the healing process.
PRP is obtained by centrifuging blood and separating out the plasma, which contains the highest concentration of growth-enhancing platelets. This concentrated extract of platelets has a high volume of powerful growth factors which stimulates the regeneration of healthy tissue in the location where damage or weakness occurred.
How it works
Musculoskeletal PRP injections are performed similar to other regenerative injections, except the solution injected is one’s own blood plasma enriched with platelets and their growth factors. Blood is obtained through a simple blood draw and then centrifuged in order to harvest the PRP. The PRP is then injected into and/or around the injured areas.
Common conditions improved by Prolotherapy and/or PRP injections:
- Sports injuries (e.g. rotator cuff tear, tennis/golfer’s elbow, Achilles tendonitis)
- Knee & shoulder pain
- Joint instability
- Ligament injuries
- Osteoarthritis
- TMJ
TRIGGER POINT INJECTIONS
Trigger point injections are specialized injections for targeted areas of muscle that are painful and generally tight. These small “knots” may form in muscles or in the fascia and can lead to acute or chronic pain. These concentrated areas of muscle spasm are associated with headaches and neck or back pain. Trigger point injections involve injecting a solution into the painful areas to help relax the muscles and increase blood flow to stimulate healing, resulting in less pain and fewer spasms over time.
