Prolotherapy: Dextrose Prolotherapy for Unresolved Neck Pain
by Ross A. Hauser, MD and Marion A. Hauser, MS, RD
Dr. Hauser has been doing prolotherapy on patients for over 15 years and has
treated thousands of arthritic knees, backs, necks, and other joints with remarkable
success. In this study, 97 out of 98 patients with chronic neck pain—including
subsets of patients who had exhausted all other options (43) or were told by their doctors
that surgery was the only option (21)—showed substantial improvement in numerous
outcome measures. The improvements in these patients continued through follow up—18
months after conclusion of prolotherapy treatments—and demonstrates the efficacy of
this treatment modality.
—Donna Alderman, DO
Prolotherapy Department Head
 Figure 1. Typical injection sites for Hemwall-Hackett Dextrose
Prolotherapy of the neck.
Neck pain is a common condition affecting about 10% of the general population
of North America at any given time, over a year up to 45%, and over a lifetime 70%.1-3
Neck pain results in a significant amount of disability and health care use in the United
States, with large personal and economic consequences.4,5 As the duration of
neck symptoms increases, especially beyond six months, one’s mental health is
negatively affected. Younger patients are more impacted by neck and referral arm symptoms
more than older patients.6 It is well documented that the longer the pain
persists, the more likely it will become chronic—with up to 7% of patients ending up
with chronic neck pain.7,8
While there is some consensus on how to treat acute painful neck episodes, there is
much debate on how to treat chronic neck pain. Most monotherapies either do not work or
have limited efficacy.9 Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and
anti-depressants have some short term benefit but no published data vindicate their
long-term use.10 Manipulative therapy, physiotherapy, and massage therapy all
show some temporary benefit but do little to curb long-term pain.11,12,13 Some
people turn to more invasive therapies like percutaneous radiofrequency neurotomy or
surgery, but long-term results have been poor and surgeries are fraught with
complications.14-17 Because of the limited response to traditional therapies,
many people are turning to alternative therapies including prolotherapy for pain control.18-20
Prolotherapy is becoming a widespread form of pain management in both complementary and
allopathic medicine.21,22 Its primary use is in pain management associated with
tendin-opathies and ligament sprains in peripheral joints.23-25 It is also
being used in the treatment of spine and joint degenerative arthritis.26,27
Prolotherapy has long been used for chronic low back pain arising from the sacroiliac
joints and as an alternative to surgery.28-30 Prolotherapy has been shown in
low back studies to improve pain levels and range of motion.31,32 In
double-blinded human studies, the evidence on the effectiveness of prolotherapy has been
considered promising but mixed.33-36
Please refer to the October 2007 issue for the complete text. In the event you need to order a back issue, please click here.
— October 2007
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