Patients & Methods |
FRAMEWORK AND SETTING
In October 1994, the primary authors (R.H., M.H.) started a Christian charity medical clinic called Beulah Land Natural Medicine Clinic in an impoverished area in southern Illinois. The primary modality of treated offered was Hackett-Hemwall dextrose Prolotherapy for pain control. Dextrose was selected as the main ingredient in the Prolotherapy solution because it is the most commonly used proliferant in Prolotherapy, is readily available, inexpensive (compared to other proliferants), and has a high safety profile.37 The clinic met every three months until July 2005. All treatments were given free of charge.
PATIENTS
Patients who received Prolotherapy for their unresolved hand pain in the years 2002 to 2005 were called by telephone and interviewed by a data collector (D.P.) who had no prior knowledge of Prolotherapy. General inclusion criteria were an age of at least 18 years, having an unresolved hand pain condition that typically responds to Prolotherapy, and a willingness to undergo at least four Prolotherapy sessions, unless the pain remitted with less number of Prolotherapy sessions. Typical hand conditions that respond to Prolotherapy include hand and/or finger osteoarthritis, ligament sprains and tendinopathies.
INTERVENTIONS
The Hackett-Hemwall technique of Prolotherapy was used. Each patient received 10 to 30 injections of a 15% dextrose, 0.2% lidocaine solution with a total of 15 to 30cc of solution used per hand/finger. Injections were given into and around the areas on the hand/fingers that were painful and/or tender with palpation. The typical spots each injected with 0.5 to 1cc of solution can be seen in Figures 1a & 1b. Tender areas injected included the carpometacarpal and metacarpophalangeal joints, proximal and distal interphalangeal joints, as well as ligament and tendon attachments around the hands and fingers. (See Figure 2.) As much as the pain would allow, the patients were asked to cut down or stop other pain medications they were taking.
| Figure 1a. Typical injection sites for Hackett-Hemwall Prolotherapy of the hand. |
 |
| Figure 1b. Prolotherapy of the thumb, carpometacarpal joint. |
 |
| Figure 2. Ligaments of the hand, thumb and fingers. Used with permission of Ross A. Hauser, MD and Marion A. Hauser, MS, RD, Beulah Land Press © 2001, Prolo Your Sports Injuries Away! Curing Sports Injuries and Enhancing Athletic Performance with Prolotherapy! |
 |
 |
 |
