I'm afraid of needles! - Read article and watch video
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It is really interesting how people respond to the injections of Prolotherapy. You’ll probably be surprised to know that over 95% of the patients at our office use nothing to get through the procedure. However, we realize that there is that 5% of the population who just have a hard time with Prolotherapy injections. Yes, injections hurt. We all know that. In fact, recently we were giving a talk on Prolotherapy in the community and when we showed the video portion of a patient receiving Prolotherapy (the patient was actually in the audience), you could see a number of people cringe.
We do everything that we can at our office to make the procedure as tolerable as possible. Here are some of the options:
LIDOCAINE
1. Use nothing, but grip the “Stress balls” or the hand or your trusty assistant, who will talk to you, joke with you, or hug you through it. Also realize that lidocaine (numbing agent) is contained in the Prolotherapy Solution. You’ll soon notice that once the Prolotherapy doctor gets going, the pain lessens because the lidocaine is numbing the area for a short time. Dr. Hauser is really the “quick-draw-McGraw” of Prolotherapy. Once he gets going, he can inject you quickly. So know that the procedure will be over soon!
2. If #1 is not an option for you, we offer topical lidocaine cream that can be applied to the area prior to getting treatment. It needs to penetrate the area for at least 20-30 minutes ahead of time, so it would be best to put that on as soon as you arrive.
OTHER ITEMS
3. Sometimes #2 is not enough for the patient, so we can prescribe an oral medication for you to take ahead of time. Depending on each person, it might be something for pain and something for anxiety. You’d need to discuss this with the doctor’s medical team ahead of time to determine the best choice.
4. If you need a little more assistance, we offer IM (intramuscular) or IV (intravenous) administration of a pain medication such as Demerol. When this is done, you must come with a driver to take you home, because you will definitely be a little woozy for a while after the treatment. When you receive this type of “conscious sedation” as it is called, you are closely monitored with a monitoring machine and one-on-one nursing. So please realize, there is extra cost involved in receiving this, because it does lengthen the whole process quite a bit. If you are interested in receiving conscious sedation, please let our schedulers know ahead of time so that we can plan accordingly.
5. After you receive your injections, we offer heat packs and rest, so that you can chill out for a while after the treatment. You’ll find that the heat brings additional blood flow to the area, calming the muscles, encouraging the healing to begin.
So please don’t let fear of injections keep you from getting the treatments you need to get you back to the life you want to lead! So many patients’ lives have been changed, it’s amazing. They are so thankful that they overcame their fears and received the treatment.
Where do the Prolotherapy injections go and do they hurt? Ross Hauser, M.D.
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