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Prolotherapy
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Prolotherapy Basics
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20 Questions - Prolotherapy
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Curing Chronic Pain
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Prolotherapy and Chronic
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 PROLOTHERAPY
AS TREATMENT FOR TMJ
Ross
Hauser, M.D.
A commonly forgotten
area in regards to headache and
neck pain is the temporomandibular joint. The
temporomandibular joint (TMJ) is the physical connection where the jaw meets
the skull. The TMJ is needed to keep the jaw in proper alignment, especially
when talking and eating. A painful and clicking TMJ is called
Temporomandibular Joint Syndrome (TMJS). TMJS symptoms are very similar to
those of
Barre-Lieou syndrome. The symptoms, such as dizziness and vertigo,
that physicians ascribe to the TMJS, may actually be due to Barre-Lieou
Syndrome.
It is well-known that
there is a relationship between head posture and jaw position.
This can easily be shown by a person putting the head in proper alignment.
This position will be comfortable if the lower jaw is back. If the lower jaw
is forced forward while the neck and head are in the position, tension is felt
in the hack of the neck.
Typically in TMJS the lower jaw (mandible) is extended forward. A head forward
posture exaggerates the problem. This forward mandible aggravates the
cervical
ligament laxity which increases the
neck pain. Again an endless cycle of pain
and disability is created in the neck, head, and face region.
Prolotherapy injections to strengthen both the cervical vertebrae and the temporomandibular
joint will solve this problem.
Eventually the mandible moves forward to the extent that it will stretch the
lateral TMJ ligament and produce pain. Once the lateral TMJ ligament becomes
lax the joint will click. It is important to note that clicking in any joint
is an indication of ligament laxity of that joint. Joint clicking is never
normal or a good sign. Joint clicking, whether it is in the TMJ, knee, neck,
or lower back is always abnormal. It is a sign that the bones are beginning to
rub against each other. The body's compensatory mechanism for such a situation
is to tighten muscles and to grow more bone. The end result will be
degeneration,
arthritis, and stiffness in that joint.
Prolotherapy can stop
this process. Prolotherapy will stop a joint from clicking and stop the
arthritic process from continuing.
Another reason why a patient may have a lax TMJ ligament is a person's
sleeping position. For example, if a patient sleeps with his or her head
turned to the right, the TMJ on the left side wilt be continually
stretched
throughout the night. Over many decades, continually sleeping in this manner,
puts the left TMJ at risk for TMJ ligament laxity. The person with a TMJ
problem is advised to sleep with the head turned to the side of the
problematic TMJ.
The worst case of TMJS to come into the office was a man r we'll call T.W.
T.W. 's jaw popped so loud that the action of opening his mouth could be heard
in the other room. The first Prolotherapy session to his TMJ caused a 60
percent reduction in the clicking of his jaw. After the second
treatment, the clicking was eliminated completely. T.W. told me his dentist
was amazed. Most dentists and oral surgeons believe TMJ Syndrome is permanent
and the best hope is for temporary symptom relief. I can verify in my own
practice that TMJ Syndrome can be cured with Prolotherapy. By the way, did the
dentist call me to find out what I did? No, they never do.
Treatment of TMJ
Syndrome
Louis Schultz, M.D., an oral surgeon, reported in 1956 that, after 20
years of experience in treating hypermobile temporomandibular joints with
Prolotherapy, the clicking, grating, or popping was controlled in all of the
several thousand patients that had been under his care, without any reported
complications or deleterious effects. Dr. Schultz wrote, "various types
of treatment used in the past (for TMJ Syndrome) and still employed by some
operators appear to he unsatisfactory. Surgery is one." One problem with
surgery is the resultant scars. Anywhere surgery is done, scar tissue will
form. Again, as in all chronic painful conditions, there are a myriad of
treatment options. A treatment that includes a surgeon's knife should be
reserved until all conservative treatment options have been exhausted.
Prolotherapy in TMJ is very simple. One to two cc's of a mixture
of 25 percent
dextrose, 20 percent Sarapin, and 0.4 percent Lidocaine
is injected into and around the temporomandibular joint(s). The patient is
placed on a soft diet until the mouth is able to fully open. The TMJ
Prolotherapy injections cause an awkward bite and a tight jaw for a couple of
days. The patient should not force the mouth open during this time period.
Modern medical practitioners will pressure sick people to utilize their
services. Options now available for people with head and neck pain are TMJ
arthroscopic surgery, TMJ implants, cervical spine surgery (many varieties),
botulinum toxin injections into muscles, and the latest gizmo, surgical
cauterization, which zaps the bones with a radiofrequency wave destroying the
treated area. This last technique may eliminate a patient's pain because it
destroys the
fibro-osseous
junction, where the pain originates. Why destroy or
remove a structure when there is a treatment that will help strengthen and
repair it? Prolotherapy causes a permanent strengthening of
ligaments and
tendons and eliminates the root cause of the pain.
Louis Schultz, M.D.: The Man Who
Discovered the Cure for TMJS
See Schultz, L. A treatment for subluxation of the
temporomandibular joint. Journal of the American Medical Association.
September 25, 1937; pp. 1032-1035.
See Schultz, L. Twenty years experience in treating
hypermobility of the temporomandibular joint. The American Journal of Surgery.
1956; 92:925-928.
Dr. Louis Schultz has cured more people of TMJS than anyone
else ever to walk on this planet. Louis Schultz, M.D., an oral surgeon,
reported in 1956 that, after 20 years of experience in treating hypermobile
temporomandibular joints with Prolotherapy, the clicking, grating, or popping
was controlled in all of the several thousand patients that had been under his
care, without any reported complications or deleterious effects.
Dr. Schultz wrote, "Various types of treatment used in
the past (for TMJS) and still employed by some operators appear to be
unsatisfactory. Surgery is one."
One problem with surgery is the resultant scars. Anywhere
surgery is done, scar tissue will form. Again, as in all chronic painful
conditions, there exists a myriad of treatment options. A treatment that
includes a surgeon's knife should be reserved until all conservative treatment
options, including Prolotherapy, have been exhausted.
Prolotherapy to the TMJ is very simple. One to two
milliliters of a mixture of 25 percent Dextrose, 20 percent Sarapin, and 0.4
percent Lidocaine is injected into and around the temporomandibular joint(s).
Some physicians use a different proliferant solution; the most important point
is that the right area is treated. The patient is placed on a soft diet until
the mouth is able to fully open. The Prolotherapy injections to the TMJ cause
an awkward bite and a tight jaw for a couple of days. The patient should not
force the mouth open during this time period. Generally, this is an excellent
time to start a diet since many people with chronic pain have a hard time
exercising. Coupled with the stress of the pain, this causes an overeating
phenomenon, which leads to the positive "basketball-belly sign".
Weight loss is encouraged in people with chronic pain. This, along with good
nutrition, can have a profound effect on the ability to heal the painful areas
after Prolotherapy.
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