A 60 year old female with severe hip osteoarthritis and daily pain requested a consultation for Prolozone therapy. She had progressive left hip pain over a period of several years, and was diagnosed with hip osteoarthritis. At the time of initial consultation, an x-ray was ordered which confirmed severe osteoarthritis as diagnosed by the patient’s orthopedic surgeon. The x-ray showed complete loss of the smooth cartilage that normally covers the bone surfaces, resulting in “bone-on-bone” contact. The patient’s left hip x-ray is shown, with an arrow pointing to the area of the femur rubbing directly against the pelvic bone.
At the time of the visit, the patient walking with a cane due to daily pain, worse with walking. She was already booked for total hip replacement surgery, but was afraid to have major surgery. She was started with Prolozone Anti-inflammatory mixture and medical grade ozone injected directly into the hip joint, using an anatomical technique (without ultrasound guidance). Using a Shallenberger technique, the injection procedure was virtually painless. The patient noted almost immediate pain improvement after the injection, which confirmed correct needle placement in the hip joint. She was satisfied that the first injection was beneficial, so she continued with a series of injections at an interval ranging from 2 weeks to 3 months. A total of 5 Prolozone AI treatments were completed. At that point, the patient was offered PRP (platelet-rich plasma) in combination with the Prolozone. PRP was prepared in the office from the patient’s own blood, using special PRP separation tubes and a PRP centrifuge using an optimal 2 spin technique. PRP 4cc was added to each subsequent Prolozone injection. A total of 3 more Prolozone injections were completed combined with PRP, resulting in a total of 8 injections. The severe hip pain had resolved with the patient reporting being pain free most days with normal activity. She was so pleased with the results that she cancelled her hip surgery, and decided to re-book only if the pain returned in future. It was recommended to the patient to receive quarterly follow-up with preventive Prolozone for at least 1 year. Further x-rays will be ordered to attempt to confirm that there is re-growth of cartilage in the hip joint (cartilage regeneration is one of the explanations for resolution of the pain).
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