Prolotherapy- A New Treatment for Osgood-Schlatter Disease | The Woodlands, TX

Osgood –Schlatter Disease (OSD) is a painful tendon disorder of the area just below the knee cap where the patellar tendon attaches to the tibia or shin bone. It occurs during the adolescent growth spurt when joint structures are changing rapidly and is a common source of pain in young athletes. Pain persists for years during the growth period and significantly affects participation in sports. Classical treatment typically includes rest, icing and limiting activity. Current literature no longer describes OSD as inflammatory, but as a degenerative condition. The study described here examines the potential benefit of dextrose injections (Prolotherapy) in the treatment of Osgood Schlatter.

Below is a study found in the Journal of Pediatrics from 2011:Osgood Schlatter houston, houston osgood schlatter, osgood schlatter, the woodlands osgood schlatter, osgood schlatter the woodlands

The Study Method

  • The study design is a randomized controlled clinical trial with blinding to the intervention.
  • Subjects were fifty-four 9 -17-year-old teens (64 knees) involved in a jumping or kicking organized sport who suffered persistent pain for at least 3 months despite 2 months of conservative treatment.
  • The outcome measure was pain on leg squat as measured on a 7-item Sports Pain Phase scale.
  • Interventions were: exercise only (control group), or injections at baseline, 1 and 2 months of lidocaine (control group) or 12.5% dextrose with lidocaine (experimental group).

Results

  • Pain control was achieved in dextrose and lidocaine treated groups but not in exercise groups by 3 months.
  • Dextrose-treated knees were 84.21% asymptomatic on sports pain scores at 1 year.
  • Only 2 of 14 knees treated with exercise achieved a pain score of 0 at 12 months and this was the only group with sports drop-outs.
  • At 1 year dextrose-treated knees were more likely than lidocaine-treated knees to remain asymptomatic.

Why Does ProLo Work?

The reasons for glucose’s effect are not well understood. A possible explanation is that it reduces increased numbers of small blood vessels, or neovasculature that forms in injured tissue and are thought to be a source of pain. An alternative explanation is that glucose stimulates growth factors necessary for tissue repair. Genes for growth factor production have been shown to activate within 20 minutes after cells are exposed to concentrated glucose. Finally, ultrasound examination shows improved organization of collagen after dextrose injections.

This effect was demonstrated in career-altering groin injuries of athletes. Dextrose treatment improved symptoms in more than 90% of athletes.

Call us for an appointment and let us help you work on a treatment program customized for your specific condition. Ultrasound can now be used to precisely deliver treatment to a specific portion of the tendon or ligament that is injured with a tear or chronic tissue changes.  We look forward to seeing you at Houston Spine & Sports Medicine!

Retrieved from: www.pediatrics.aappublications.org