Post-Injection Care

Activity……

  • Non-painful normal activity movement, stretching, and exercise are important for the laying down of normal collagen in the healing of ligaments or tendons. Therefore, use common sense in your daily, exercise, or sports activity.

  • Do not immobilize any treated joint with a sling or restrictive bandage.

  •  Move and exercise the treated joint as much as possible throughout the post-inection healing phase, including normal/routine daily activity movements. However, limit the degree of range of motion and strength exercising to that which is tolerated BEFORE it becomes painful. Let pain limit your movement or degree of stretching. Do not participate in aggressive exercise training or sports activities until you have received endorsement from the Doctor who is treating the injury.

  • Healing of ligaments and tendons is a slow process, and requires time and patience. Most ligaments and tendons heal within a period of 3 months; however, the majority of healing after a prolotherapy session occurs in the first two weeks. The first 4 days post prolotherapy are the most important and you should avoid stressing the joint or you may cause the treatment to be undone. The next 10 days should be a gradual return to 60-75% activity levels using pain as your indication to pull back.

Rehabilitation…….

Prolotherapy is a treatment for stabilizing joint instability due to ligament sprain injury or muscle tendon sprain injury. Following joint stabilization, I recommend

  • Yoga or Pilates;

  • Walking

As rehabilitative therapies to help resolve residual compensatory myofascial restriction and core muscular weakness problems (e.g., core weakness, short leg abduction weakness, scoliosis).

 What to avoid…..

Do not apply ice, which is anti-inflammatory, at any time during the course of Prolotherapy.

Anti-inflammatory drugs to avoid:

  • steroidal drugs such as cortisone and prednisone and

  • nonsteroidal drugs such as Advil, Alka Seltzer, Anaprox, Artrotec, Aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid), Bristel, Cataflam, Celebrex, Clinoril, Ecotrin, Excedrin, Feldene, Indocine, Lodine, Motrin (ibuprofen), Naprosyn, Percodan, Vioxx, any Cox-2 inhibitors, or white willow bark derivatives.

What to include….

Apply heat (e.g., heating pad) or diffuse, intense heat (e.g., sauna, hot tub) can be applied to the treated area during the first three days following Prolotherapy—a hot shower or bath is also no problem – but only for short periods of less than 10 minutes. After the third day, the patient may use local or diffuse heat if it provides comfort as needed.

Anti-inflammatory drugs to include:

  • over-the-counter drugs such as Tylenol (acetaminophen)