Is Prolotherapy Effective in the Treatment of Avascular Necrosis of the Femoral Head?

In this article by Ilker Solmaz, MD; Aydan Orscelik, MD; Özlem Karasimav, MD; Serkan Akpancar, MD from our partners at Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine, a group of physicians report on a case study using prolotherapy on a 30-year old patient with complaints of pain and restricted motion of the right hip. The following is an excerpt of the case study, followed by a the full text available for download.

Abstract/ Avascular necrosis of the femoral head (ANFH) is one of the most common diseases, accompanied by varying degrees of functional limitation and reduced quality of life, especially in younger individuals. Various conservative and operative options are available for the treatment of this disease. Methods and Results

The authors report a case with ANFH that occurred from long-time and uncontrolled glucocorticoid use. In the treatment of the case, we used prolotherapy injections, whose efficacy and reliability were proved in the treatment of other chronic musculoskeletal problems. After the sixth session of prolotherapy injections, the patient was able to do daily activities as the same as the previous physical and effort capacity. The WOMAC osteoarthritis index was decreased from 92 preinjections to 12; the Likert pain scale was decreased from 5 preinjections to 1 after the injections.

Conclusions / They obtained successful outcomes in terms of patient satisfaction and clinical and radiological parameters with prolotherapy injections. Prolotherapy may be useful as an easily applicable and satisfying auxiliary method for the treatment of ANFH. (Altern Ther Health Med. [E-pub ahead of print.

Ilker Solmaz, MD,is an assistant profesor in the Department of Traditional and Ilker Complementary Medicine Center, Gulhane Training and Research Hospital, in Ankara, Turkey. Aydan Orscelik, MD,is an assistant profesor in the Department of Sports Medicine, Health Sciences University Gulhane Medical Faculty, in Ankara, Turkey.ÖzlemKarasimav, MD,is a doctor in the Department of Sports Medicine, Gulhane Training and Research Hospital. Serkan Akpancar, MD,is a doctor in the Department of Orthopedics Surgery, Tokat State Hospital, in Tokat, Turkey. Corresponding author: Serkan Akpancar, MDE-mail address: [email protected]