Conclusion

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Ninety-one percent (31 out of 34) of patients who were told by at least one medical doctor that they needed surgery to resolve their chronic musculoskeletal pain complaint felt Hackett-Hemwall dextrose Prolotherapy changed their life for the better. In this study, Prolotherapy caused a statistically significant improvement in their pain and stiffness. Upon interview, on average 10 months after their last Prolotherapy session, this study revealed improvement in patients’ quality of life parameters in addition to pain and stiffness including depression, anxiety, medication usage, as well as range of motion, sleep and exercise ability. Seventy-nine percent felt they had enough pain relief with Prolotherapy that they will not now or in the future ever need surgery. Four of the remaining seven patients, noted 50% or greater pain relief from the Prolotherapy and plan on getting more Prolotherapy in the future.

Since this pilot study found such significant improvements in these participants with chronic musculoskeletal pain who were told that surgery was needed, further studies under more controlled circumstances with larger patient populations should be done.


Acknowledgements

Doug Puller (D.P.), independent data collector.
Dave Gruen (D.G.), independent data analyst from www.bolderimage.com.


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