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Dr George Watson
Dr. George R. Watson, D.O. is certified in Preventive Health, Occupational Medicine, Bariatric Medicine, and is the first physician in Kansas to be a Diplomate of the American Board of Anti-Aging Medicine. Dr. Watson has served in the Air Force as a Weapons Systems Officer, Electronic Warfare Officer, and Flight Surgeon. Dr. Watson is located in the Park City Medical Center, 425 E. 61st St. North. #2 and can be reached at 316-744-3400
Health & Medicine
2006-09-01 15:33:00
Examples of prolo-therapy
QUESTION: You have previously written about prolo-therapy.  What are some examples of patients who have had prolo-therapy?
ANSWER: The first case is a gentleman who had left shoulder joint and rotator cuff pain.  He wanted to avoid surgery, if possible.
He has had five injections at 4 week intervals, and has significant improvement in his range of motion and a marked decrease in pain.
Another case is a gentleman who had previously not responded to physical therapy for a right frozen shoulder due to significant degenerative disease.  After his first injection, the physical therapist was able to accomplish so much more in recovery of range of motion.  And it was all the more amazing since he is nearing 80 years of age.
Another case was a badly sprained ankle that was not healing satisfactorily, with continued swelling and instability.  The patient received prolo-therapy injections over the damaged ligaments, promoting healing of the ligaments and improved stability.
A lady 92 years old came in with severe degenerative change in her right shoulder, and terrible grinding in both knees, the right worse than the left.  I injected her right shoulder, and I asked her to move it around through a normal range of motion, while I injected her right knee, then the left knee.  She had been told, “you have bone on bone, and the only thing that can help is knee replacements”, but her daughters did not think she could tolerate the surgery.  After the second knee was injected, she stood up on her own, grabbed her walker, and walked with less pain, while using the right shoulder through greater range of motion.  She will have injections every four weeks, for four to ten months, depending on her progress.  Her seventy year old daughter was so impressed, she made an appointment and had her knees injected with prolo-therapy.
QUESTION: Tell me again, what is the principle of prolo-therapy?
ANSWER: The principle is to cause a brief inflammation to which the body responds, resulting in activation of the chondroblasts, cells that repair the articular surfaces in the joints, and fibroblasts, that repair ligaments.  In the world of professional sports, this is used as part of an aggressive program to speed the healing process, and to make for stronger ligaments.   Prolo-therapy takes the inflammatory approach, whereas steroid injections take the anti-inflammatory approach.  Both have their place in the treatment of acute and chronic injuries.  Many of our patients prefer to avoid steroids, if possible.
 
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