Pain and dysfunction of the musculoskeletal system are the second most common problems that individuals report to their healthcare practitioners for. Lower back pain, knee pain, elbow pain, ankle pain, shoulder pain, hip pain, wrist pain, finger pain, toe pain, heel pain are the most common presenting problems.

These muscular skeletal problems are caused by two major general issues:

• Acute injuries
• chronic wear-and-tear

To understand how the above affects the joints and causes joint pain and instability, we must understand what the musculoskeletal system is made of:

All bones are held together by ligaments and all muscles are connected to a bond via a tendon. Ligaments and tendons are fibrous tissues that are made of collagen strands. The best example of this structure is a rope which is made of thousands of fibrous strands intertwined together to make one rope. A ligament and or a tendon is also constructed in this method where as there are thousands of collagen strands intertwined together to make one ligament or one tendon.

With the above understanding, it becomes easier to know why we have pain and instability because of either sports injury or any chronic pain to our joints.

Acute injuries also known as sports injuries are not necessarily caused by intense sports activities or major accidents. However, they can be caused by a tweak or sprain as individual walks fast, jogs, or is involved in any activities that utilize the said joint. Any motion that falls outside of the general comfort zone of a joint, can cause the sprain of the ligament or tendon. Relating this to the above example– a sprain can be as simple as a tear or tethering of the strands within the rope. Even if the rope is fully intact or partially intact, any tear of the strands of this rope (aka ligament or tendon) will cause pain and discomfort to an individual.

Can this be found on x-ray, CAT scan, MRI? Unfortunately, if the rope is not partially or fully torn, even an MRI will not show this abnormality. The most accurate method of knowing if there are micro-sprains (such as explained above) is to be examined by a healthcare practitioner who is specialized in this field (those with experience in prolotherapy or osteopathic medicine are more apt to such diagnosis)

Chronic pain is usually because of a sprain or any joint wear and tear which has not been addressed for years, therefore resulting in ligament laxity. Ligament laxity will result in instability of the joint which will cause abnormality in the stability of the entire musculoskeletal system which leads to pain.

Other causes of chronic pain are constant wear and tear of the Cartilage of our joints which are also labeled as degenerative joint disease or art arthritis.

Can this be found on x-ray, CAT scan, or MRI? Unfortunately, ligament laxity cannot be found on any imaging and is again dependent on the proper diagnosis by a specialized practitioner in such fields as prolotherapy or osteopathic medicine. However cartilaginous thinning and wear and tear can be spotted on x-rays and MRIs. Therefore, it is important for anyone above age 40 with any joint pain to have an MRI to evaluate the wear and tear on the cartilaginous portion of their joints.

Prolotherapy in Santa Monica, Los Angeles and Bakersfield

Prolotherapy or other regenerative non-surgical injections are extremely helpful with sports injury related sprains, and chronic pain wear-and-tear. As with any other healthcare and pain management, there is no cookie cutting answer. Therefore, it is important to report to a physician who has experience in such fields as regenerative pain therapy and does not resort to steroid injections as the first line to joint pain. A full osteopathic examination of your musculoskeletal system is necessary to understand the cause of the pain first. Once the cause of the pain is identified then proper decision could be made on how to regenerate and restore the strength of that joint. A combination of different modalities such as dextrose prolotherapy, platelet rich plasma (PRP), Visco supplementation, or fat tissue augmentation can be used to restore the strength and the stability of any joint. Once the strength of your joint is stabilized with the above treatment modalities, the pain will be reduced.

Looking for more information about Prolotherapy in Santa Monica, Los Angeles or Bakersfield? Contact Delight Medical today to set up a private consultation with pain management physician, Dr. Kerendian.

We have treated many weekend athletes with the above modalities, and they have successfully returned to their favorite activities such as jogging, running, basketball, tennis, skiing, water sports, football, soccer, or any other activities that they enjoy.

We’ve also treated many individuals that have been unable to use their joints commonly knee or lower back) because of chronic pain of arthritis or wear and tear of aging. Many individuals who were told that they need knee surgery are now enjoying their favorite activities with the above treatments, and avoided surgery.