Anyone have experience with prolotherapy for osteoarthritis?

I have never heard of this. How are the treatments going?

So far so good
I've now completed 4 sessions (one or two shots each session) at 2-week intervals. My hip arthritis pain seems to be mostly gone. The Naturopath has scheduled me for another session in about 3 months. The shots have been painful at times, but if the cure lasts, it's worth it. The cost has been about $200 per session. So far insurance has covered part of the cost, but I've been told by the doctor's office that if insurance gets the word "prolotherapy" in the billing, they'll disallow reimbursement regardless of the effectiveness.

A-109--

I'll keep my fingers crossed that all your form-fillers-out are discrete people.

My first reaction was to scoff, but I am going to keep an open mind. Basically, you are spending $200 for an injection of sugar water. Your doctor is also defrauding your insurance company by not listing the correct procedure code.

I looked up prolotherapy, and found this:

http://www.prolotherapy.com/

I am always very suspicious of any treatment the purports to cure everything from splinters to housemaid's knee.

To prolotherapy's credit, there is a clinical trial going on to determine the treatment's efficacy. Are you part of the trial group?

http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/show/NCT00085722

If I sound ambivalent about this, it is because I am. I am always on the lookout for new treatments for arthritis, but I am understandably suspicious. I have dabbled in alternative medicine. Some of it has merit, but most of it is pure hokum. I will take a "wait and see" attitude.

In defense of prolotherapy, I found that the pain I was experiencing in my right hip was getting pretty bad about 2 months ago. My pain was reaching a level where I was becoming quite irritable. Within one week of the first session, the pain subsided. It's pretty much gone now, and I've been able to walk with my 3-year-old, carry him on my shoulders (including jogging with him a short distance), and stand in one place without discomfort.
As far as the billing, no place on the form uses prolotherapy as a procedure. However, injections are listed, and that's what the Naturopath is checking off. Keep in mind that insurers do their best to not pay whenever possible. My acupuncturist also has had to watch how she bills.
I'm not going to endorse prolotherapy as a cure-all, but I'd rather try it than resort to an artificial joint for now. Once I have a joint replaced, there's no going back. One orthopedic surgeon told me that there were no guarantees that joint replacement would lead to pain-free use of the joint. Prolotherapy is pretty benign compared to that.
At 50 years old, I hope and expect that cartilage regeneration will be developed to a feasible solution within my lifetime. My dad is 80, and his cartilage is gone in his hips. He still rides his bike and plays occasional racketball, but he doesn't expect to be able to get cartilage implants in the next 5 years. If you research further, you'll find that some authorities believe that joint cartilage regeneration is likely in the not-too-distant future.

Update on hip pain
Since the week after the first injections, I haven't had any significant hip pain except for one day a week or two ago. That one day, I was having sore muscles in a number of spots--I think I was experiencing a minor cold. My hip was aching that day, along with my shoulders, hands and neck. Otherwise, my hip hasn't been a problem for me before or since. I do have other aches and pains, such as when sleep wrong and get a stiff neck, or when I overuse my hands at work (my job requires me to use hand tools).

How are you doing now? Has the benefit from Prolo lasted?

hi sapnam- any response from A 109? i'd like to know myself if the benefits lasted. it was a few years ago.

I have osteoarthritis in my knees and left hip after several sports injuries, and little cartilidge left in my knees...I have been receiving prolotherapy for 2 yrs and now down to once every 5-6 mths..I have had a very good experience and have been able to get back to many of the activities I was unable to do for years. I havent taken an advil in 6-8 mths, and no more holding railings going up and down the stairs. I know there are skeptics, but I am definately a believer.

I wondered if you had any other information on this or any other treatments for repair of cartilage loss in hip

In 1987-1989 I had prolotherapy done by 2 different osteopath for my chronic lower back issues. It was a total waste of my financial resources and did nothing for my pain - either for the short term or long term.

"... But research on prolotherapy is limited and studies have had mixed results on whether it can provide consistent benefits. For example, a recent medical review of five well-designed studies found that prolotherapy is ineffective treating chronic low back pain by itself. However, in those cases, prolotherapy reduced pain and disability when combined with spinal manipulation, exercise and other treatments.

Researchers aimed at testing prolotherapy also face a two-fold challenge: the wide variation of compounds and procedures used for injections, and the presence of other interventions that could influence efficacy.

Until it receives a tried-and-tested stamp of approval, prolotherapy is unlikely to become a mainstream pain relief technique – if for nothing more, because of cost. In general, a treatment requires conclusive scientific evidence and government approval before it can be considered for insurance coverage, leaving many patients to foot the bill for this oft-practiced, but little researched therapy for themselves."

Phoenix, I have some confidence in hokum after years of watching "curanderos" in rural Mexico help many people. The placebo effect, most likely in many cases. But I remember once Aldous Huxley being told by his wife when he was leaving for an extended stay in another country (Be sure to find a good quack as soon as you get there).

In which hospital you have the prolotherapy?