Prolotherapy: An Option for Healing Elbow and Shoulder Injuries

Almost all elbow and shoulder injuries in pitchers involves ligaments and tendons. The injury that most have involves a weakening of the ligaments and tendons in the shoulder. Generally it is the ulnar collateral ligament in the elbow and the glenohumeral ligament in the shoulder. Once these ligaments weaken, the pitcher can no longer throw the baseball at maximum velocity. Eventually tendons and muscle start to be affected also.

The normal protocol we use is to the athlete every week or two for three visits. Prolotherapy which stimulates the ligaments and tendons to heal is often curative for these injuries.

The athlete receives Prolotherapy at day one and then two weeks later and then two weeks later. So they may be off of pitching for four weeks.

Exercising can continue during the treatment but normally pitching is withheld until the athlete can do all the exercises without pain.

Once this occurs light throwing is started. Generally the athlete needs a minimum of three visits and sometimes up to six visits. During the rehabilitation the pitcher can work at other aspects of their health including core strengthening, aerobic work, and balance work.

So the one month that they aren’t throwing (first, 2nd, and third visits done two weeks apart equals four weeks), they can vastly improve their balance, CORE strength and aerobic capacity. If they use visualization techniques when they start pitching again, they literally would have lost no ground and often can throw it harder then before the injury. When the Prolotherapy is administered sooner rather than later (acute injury) often just one or two visits are needed.

When pitchers realize that a sore shoulder or elbow can easily be treated with Prolotherapy many of their careers will continue and to the better. Athletes don’t need a surgery on their resume, better to say they have never had surgery. Prolotherapy by stimulating the ulnar collateral and glenohumeral ligaments to heal has the potential to cure the pitcher’s shoulder and elbow problems. Because these tissues are strengthened the end result should be a faster throw and a decreased risk for further injury. All of these facts are some of the reasons why athletes are realizing that sports performance can be enhanced by Prolotherapy.