|
HIP LABRAL TEAR
Though the operation is typically successful, there are some patients
who want an alternative to hip arthroscopic surgery for
labral tears. I
believe the best alternative treatment to hip arthroscopy is
Prolotherapy. While there
are no formal studies on hip labral tears treated with Prolotherapy, I
have been treating labral tears with Prolotherapy for fifteen years. I
always give the client the option of arthroscopy, some choose it but
most do not. I think there is something innate in people that they do
not want to undergo general anesthesia if they don’t have to.
It isn’t typically a matter of whether Prolotherapy will work for
hip labral tears treated with Prolotherapy. Prolotherapy has an excellent
chance of healing the injury. It is a matter of whether the patient (or
athlete) is able to not move the joint in such a manner which produces
the clicking sensation. Patients getting Prolotherapy for hip labral
tears can exercise, but they must just make sure that they don’t do
exercises that bring on the severe pain and don’t do exercises that
cause the clicking. Typically at Caring Medical, hip labral tears are
treated every month to two months depending on which solution is used.
For athletes where there is an urgency to get better, visits can be more
frequent.
The story of John the runner: John would fly in to Oak Park, IL to
receive his Prolotherapy at Caring Medical. On his initial history, he
reported that he had “normal” Prolotherapy done to his hip, but upon
questioning him it was clear his problem wasn’t a typical hip sprain or
hip arthritis - it was a labral tear. His complaints related to
stability in the front of his hip and a clicking sensation was also
present. We treated him for three visits with Prolotherapy using
Platelet Rich Plasma.
This is where we spin down 20 cc of the patients’ blood and separate out
the fraction with the most
growth factors.
We then inject the growth factors into the labral area. John responded
great to his Prolotherapy treatments at Caring Medical. He is back to
full activities.
For those of you contemplating why your hip might not be healing, you
may have a labral tear. Realize that many
MRI’s
and physicians miss labral tears. The best way to diagnose it is by an
MRI arthrogram. This is where they inject dye into the hip joint, along
with doing an MRI scan. The treatment options for the athlete or person
with a hip labral tear (same for
Labral tears
of the shoulder) is
Arthroscopy
or Prolotherapy. Prolotherapy typically takes a few visits and the
frequency of visits depends on the patient. If it were me, I’d get
Prolotherapy. Surgery would be my back-up plan not vice versa. If this
sounds like you, give us a call – we’d love to help you!
|
Prolotherapy
Our
Prolotherapy Books - 
POWER
OVER PAIN