In Allevio’s ongoing quest to improve the way the world manages pain, several members of our amazing team, including our Research Coordination Lead, Shadi Babazadeh, MD, Allevio’s first full time physician Dr. Ramin Safakish, and our Medical Director, Dr. Imrat Sohanpal, have prepared a poster outlining our outcomes using Prolotherapy for Sacroiliac Joint (SI Joint) Pain. The Prolotherapy SI Joint Poster, which will be presented at this years World Institute Of Pain 9th Congress in Dublin, highlights some important findings for clinicians who look to treat pain with Prolotherapy, and who use different types of regenerative medicine to treat patients. It’s also a very promising development for patients with SI Joint pain, or lower back pain, who are looking for a treatment that is not invasive, addictive, or consumable.
Here are some highlights of the Retrospective Study of Quality of Life and Outcome Measurement in Prolotherapy for Sacroilliac Joint Pain:
- This was a retrospective, nonrandomized clinical study
- Through 2016, 66 patients were treated weekly with prolotherapy, using fluoroscopy for image guidance
- A mixture of 25% dextrose and 1% lidocaine was administered weekly for 6 weeks
- 61% of patients reported a 50% or greater improvement in mood
- 58.4% of patients had a 50% or greater improvement in their ability to perform normal work
- 58.3% of patients had a 50% or greater improvement in their quality of sleep
- 30.6% of patients in the study reported a decrease in their usage of pain killers
The research team who worked on this study will not only continue to research prolotherapy used for this condition, but note that regenerative medicine interventions, and this prolotherapy use specifically, is ideal for acute pain, sub acute pain, and sports injuries in younger and more active patients. The use of prolotherapy for SI joint pain is also encouraging as it may mean we can avoid using ablation interventions for this condition in younger patients.
While prolotherapy is a well known type of regenerative procedure, it is both rarely offered with image guidance from either an ultrasound or a fluoroscopy to ensure the needle is in exactly the right place. Also, its effects on SI joint pain when we have a clear picture of exactly where the needle is relative to the joint, has not been widely researched.
As a general guideline, almost all of the pain procedures offered at Allevio involve using imaging tools such as ultrasound or fluoroscopy so that our pain management physicians have a crystal clear idea of exactly where a needle is going, which makes ongoing treatments much more consistent, and of course is safer and easier for our patients.
The Allevio research team, as well as the physicians and chiropractors that work closely with, and often offer, prolotherapy in Allevio’s pain management practice and research, are available to answer questions and discuss the treatment. Please email us at info @ allevioclinic . com with any enquiries.