more on prolotherapy

[debbiej]

I finally spoke to the vet who does the regenerative injection therapy. he is an interesting man. the proceedure would involve ultrasound of the joints and he feels hip dysplasia develops more because of joint laxity. If I understand correctly what he was saying, the joints start out ok, but because of joint laxness, (genetic predisposition) the socket does not develop and form correctly. interesting thought. but then, even after the hip is dysplastic, the improvemeent of laxity provides relief from pain. he gave me the authors of some books to research, and tenativly we have an appointment for Sat. am in Santa Fe. anybody have any input????
the initial consult is $90.00 the ultrasound and injections as needed are $700.00. it's not a cure, he says it is a proceedure that can offer joint support and stability to slow down arthritic changes.

[debbiej]

Today I called the woman where Hilda went for hydrotherapy. the vet from Santa Fe did his clinic at her facility last year. I asked her how many dogs were helped that she knew of. she said she knew of two dogs that the owners felt were helped, and two that are not improved and the vet that did it put one of the dogs on pain meds after the proceedure didn't help. so I canceled the appointment, and will try to learn more about this stuff. any info would be appreciated.

[flyballmom]

Debbie...do a google search on prolotherapy. Most of the stuff you find will be human related, but the therapy itself and outcomes should be similar. When I searched I found very little info except for that which was put out by folks offering the treatment. I couldn't find any sort of statistical scientific data, but maybe you'll have more luck than I. If you know of anyone who is a Physical Therapist (of the registered, human variety) they might be a good resource. Sorry to be blunt but my gut says it's snake oil.....

[debbiej]

my vet here thinks so too. the guy in santa fe is a vet, but after speaking to the woman who does hydrotherapy, I think 50-50 is not such good odds. plus what if the tendons and ligaments become too tight, what if they put more stress and pain on the joint? that's $'s I can save for a new pool for hilda, or hip replacement.

[Liz]

My husband has actually had prolotherapy done, as has a friend of ours. The friend had tennis elbow, he's a carpenter, and the prolo cleared that up. Bill has shoulder problems, primarily from decoying, which were exacerbated by a car accident a couple of years ago. He goes in for prolo about every 9-12 months and it really does seem to help. I don't know any dogs who have used this though

Liz