Prolotherapy

Prolotherapy is a regenerative treatment that supports your body’s natural healing response to help repair painful or injured joints, ligaments, and tendons – offering another path forward when pain persists despite more conventional treatments.

How Prolotherapy Works

Prolotherapy, short for proliferative therapy, is a regenerative injection treatment that stimulates your body’s natural healing response. Rather than simply reducing inflammation or masking pain, the goal is to encourage the repair of injured ligaments, tendons, and other connective tissues so they become stronger over time.

Injection

A regenerative solution is precisely injected into the injured or painful area.

Healing Response

The injection stimulates your body’s natural healing response.

Tissue Repair

Your body begins repairing weakened or damaged ligaments, tendons, and other connective tissues.

Improved Strength and Function

Over time, healthier connective tissue can develop, helping improve stability, strength, and function.

Is Prolotherapy Right for Your Condition?

Prolotherapy may be appropriate for chronic ligament, tendon, and joint conditions, particularly when pain has persisted despite conservative treatment. During your consultation, Dr. Burns will determine whether prolotherapy is appropriate for your condition or whether another regenerative option, such as PRP, may provide a better outcome. 

  • Tennis elbow
  • Golfer’s elbow
  • Rotator cuff injuries
  • Frozen shoulder
  • Plantar fasciitis
  • Knee osteoarthritis
  • Trigger points
  • Chronic ankle sprains
  • SI joint instability
  • Chronic ligament injuries
  • Tendinopathies
  • Certain overuse injuries
  • Scar tissue
  • Tender points

Comparing Prolotherapy, PRP, and Corticosteroid Injections

All three can be used for acute and chronic soft tissue injuries, tendinopathies, and osteoarthritis, but research shows clear differences over time.

How it Works
Uses mild irritant (often dextrose) to stimulate the body’s natural healing response.

Primary Goal
Stimulate healing and strengthen injured ligaments, tendons, and connective tissues.

Expected Outcome
Longer-term improvement as tissues heal and become stronger.

How it Works
Uses concentrated platelets from your own blood to deliver growth factors that support tissue repair.

Primary Goal
Accelerate healing and regeneration of damaged tissues.

Expected Outcome
Longer-term improvement by enhancing the body’s natural repair process.

How it Works
Uses medication to reduce inflammation and suppress the body’s inflammatory response.

Primary Goal
Provide temporary pain relief by decreasing inflammation.

Expected Outcome
Often provides short-term symptom relief but does not repair damaged tissue.

Research suggests that regenerative treatments such as prolotherapy and PRP generally provide longer-lasting improvement than corticosteroid injections for many chronic tendon, ligament, and joint conditions. While steroid injections can provide faster short-term relief, they do not repair damaged tissue and their benefits often diminish over time.

  • Rotator cuff tendinopathy: Both prolotherapy and PRP outperform steroids for long-term pain relief and improved function, especially beyond 24 weeks and at long-term follow-up.
  • Tennis elbow and plantar fasciitis: Prolotherapy often provides better long-term outcomes and fewer side effects than steroids, performing as well as extracorporeal shockwave therapy (ESWT) in many studies.
  • Chronic soft tissue injuries: Prolotherapy shows results comparable to PRP and corticosteroids for pain and function, with strong safety and good tolerance.
  • Knee osteoarthritis: Prolotherapy improves pain and function compared to exercise alone and may outperform both hyaluronic acid and steroid injections. PRP, however, shows the most consistent and durable improvement, outperforming all other injection types at six months or longer. Current guidelines rank PRP highest for sustained results.
  • SI Joint Pain: In a randomized controlled trial of patients who received three prolotherapy injections at 2-week intervals, prolotherapy and corticosteroid injections produced similar short-term improvement in SI joint pain. However, patients who received prolotherapy had significantly better long-term relief at 6 and 15 months.

What to Expect

Before Treatment

  • We will review your medical history, answer your questions, and walk you through what to expect.
  • Eat a healthy, nutrient-rich diet during the week leading up to your procedure.
  • Avoid anti-inflammatory medications and smoking for at least 48 hours. Contact us about medications or supplements.
  • Avoid alcohol before the visit.

Day of Your Visit

  • Wear comfortable clothes which allow easy access to the injury site, if possible.
  • Please arrive on time for your evaluation and treatment.
  • We’ll review your symptoms, examine the treatment area, and take vital signs, if appropriate.
  • The targeted areas(s) will be injected with the prolotherapy solution with local anesthetic.
  • Most procedures are completed in approximately 30 minutes.

Early Recovery

  • Eat as healthy as possible for the week following the procedure.
  • Limit alcohol and avoid smoking.
  • Some patients notice temporary pain relief immediately after the procedure. Mild soreness, warmth, swelling, or stiffness may occur over the next day or two.
  • There is usually no downtime, but avoid strenuous activity for at least 1 day (or as advised).

Longer Recovery

  • Full benefit for tissue repair may take 3–6 months+.
  • Aftercare may include fascial release, lymph therapy, physical therapy, guided strengthening, or other individualized rehab.
  • Avoid NSAIDs and other anti-inflammatories such as Alpha lipoic acid, Ginger, Turmeric, Boswellia, Pycnogenol, Omegas, Low Dose Naltrexone (LDN).
  • Continue hormone support per your provider.

Pricing per Joint or Soft Tissue Area • $200

Frequently Asked Questions

Prolotherapy is often considered for patients with chronic tendon, ligament, or joint pain who have not experienced lasting improvement with more conservative treatments. During your consultation, Dr. Burns will evaluate your condition and determine whether prolotherapy is an appropriate option or whether another treatment may be more beneficial.

Payment is collected after your appointment. A 5% processing fee applies to credit card payments. Check and cash are alternative payment option.

Both prolotherapy and PRP are regenerative treatments, but they are not always used for the same situations. The best option depends on your diagnosis, the severity of the injury, your goals, and other individual factors. Dr. Burns will review the available evidence and help determine which treatment is most appropriate for your specific condition.

Because prolotherapy works by stimulating your body’s natural healing response, treatment is typically focused on one joint, one ligament, or up to four trigger points during a single session. During your consultation, Dr. Burns will determine the safest and most effective treatment plan based on your condition and goals.

Depending on the condition being treated, prolotherapy may be one option to improve pain and function before considering more invasive treatments. During your evaluation, Dr. Burns will discuss whether regenerative treatment is appropriate for your specific situation.

Prolotherapy has been shown to have a strong safety profile when performed appropriately. As with any injection procedure, there are potential risks and side effects, which Dr. Burns will review with you before treatment so you can make an informed decision.

READY TO TAKE THE NEXT STEP?

Let’s talk about whether Prolotherapy is right for you.

Schedule a consultation to discuss your goals, determine whether Prolotherapy is the right option for you, and create a personalized treatment plan.