Has anyone had prolotherapy, particularly in the lower back?

[LilRedWG]

After nine long months my physio has thrown in the towel, discharged me and told me to get a referral for prolotherapy (to tighten my lax ligaments), which I've been told to expect to wait at least 2-3 months for.

In the meantime I am to take it easy, do a little light yoga, core stability exercises etc. I am pinning everything on this working as I don't know what else they can do for me - does anyone have any experience?

I'm not feeling the happiest this evening and am terrified about how I will get through the next few months.

Thanks, LilRegWG.

Hopeful bump! Anyone?

I'm kind of in the same boat, except my stretched tendons and ligaments were stretched by doing gymnastics when I was younger. It's sore because I haven't the support in my lumbar area that I should have (due to stretched ligaments/tendons) and it doesn't help being moderately hypermobile either.

On a scale of 1 - 10, how sore are you normally?

I have had, was fab. Am in line at store, will be back I promise.

I have a constant ache and feeling of pressure in my lumbar reason, with the occassional excruciating shooting pain. I can't walk DD to school (less than .75 mile), can't pick her up or run and skip with her. I can't vacuum (every cloud and all that :)), struggle with carrying DS. Sleep is fitful and uncomfortable. You get the gist.

Sorry for being a moan-bag, but thank you so much for replying.

Don't be too hard on yourself about the hoovering . Not the end of the world you know. And you're not being a moan-bag, just getting it out of your system. That's my theory and I'm sticking to it.

Are you taking any pain relief regularly or as and when needed?

I had prolo done on my sacroiliac joint. It had been giving me trouble on and off since I was 22 and in a car accident, and one night five years ago I bent over our pull-out freezer drawer and felt it go "clunk". I managed to hobble to the couch and those were the last ten steps I took that night. It was absolutely bloody excruciating. Went to see my colleague to try to get adjusted the next day (I'm a chiropractor - so the chiro with low back pain is sort of a sick joke :o), it helped a bit but it was just rotten for months. I'd get adjusted, it would get stuck again the next day. Finally a naturopathic physician I know suggested prolo, and offered to do it. I have to admit it hurt - but then, it would, having a needle stuck in a joint isn't going to be like being licked by a kitten! And it felt like I'd been kicked in the bum for the next few days. But as soon as the inflammation subsided, it no longer shifted as much, and once it stopped hurting, I did some back rehab, and I've had no more trouble with it since.

I don't think prolo is the cure-all. I obviously treat a lot of people with low back pain, and some will ask about prolo, and there are cases when it's not appropriate. But for anyone with ligament laxity (and I find that's most often women, or those who've had traumatic injuries to the low back), it can be a godsend.

Let me know if you have any more questions. Have they explained exactly what it is and what it's meant to do?

Thanks both.

Yes, Jacksmama they have explained and I've watched a video of it on YouTube (ouch!) but if it works I can put up with the pain. I guess being hit by a bus 20 years ago probably didn't help my pelvis either. I've had lots of visits to chiropractors ever since.

I guess my main concern is that he is going to refuse to do it unless I stop breast feeding my DS, which at the moment I do not want to do (although in three months time I will rpobably feel differently). The physio said that stopping may help but is by no means guaranteed so to carry on.

Thank you for giving me hope.

Meh re giving up BF. How old is DS? My personal and professional opinion is that the amount of relaxin present in the blood due to BF doesn't make much difference once baby is older than 6-9 months and you may as well go for it.
But of course I'm not your doctor. Bet your doctor is a man. My own attitude would be "let's do it now, it will help and if it doesn't entirely fix the problem because you're still BFing, well, we can always do it again."

Thanks Jacksmama - DS is nine months old now so that's good news. :)