Prolozone Injection

Prolozone Injection

What is Prolozone?

Prolozone^TM is a technique that involves injection of a combination of procaine, anti-inflammatory medications, homeopathics, vitamins, minerals, proliferative medicines, and ozone gas (mixed with pure oxygen). These medicines are injected into degenerated or injured joints or other injured body parts, and into areas of pain. Prolozone is based on the principles of neural therapy, prolotherapy, and ozone therapy all combined in to one. Prolozone is effective at regenerating joints and other damaged tissues and at stopping pain.

Remarkable Results

The result of Prolozone are in many cases nothing short of remarkable, because damaged tissues can be healed or regenerated, and pain that is otherwise untreatable can be permanently cured.

Ozone and Prolozone

Ozone the main component of Prolozone therapy. When ozone is injected into tissue by itself, it causes intense pain for the first few minutes while it is exerting its oxidizing effects. This is the reason that the anesthetic drug procaine (trade name Novocaine) is used before the ozone. In addition to its anesthetic effects, procaine also stabilizes and restores damaged cell membranes. Because of this action, procaine alone can cure chronic pain in some cases.

The Prolozone Formula

Part of the healing effects of ozone are due to improving oxygen usage of cells in the body. To enhance that effect, various nutrients are added that play important roles in the use of oxygen by the cells. This includes niacin (vitamin B3), methycobalamin (vitamin B12), folic acid, and pyridoxine (vitamin B6), magnesium and a balanced mixture of other trace minerals found in sterile sea water.

Arthritis and damaged tissues often are inflamed. For this reason, a homeopathic dilution of methylprednisolone (corticosteroid medication) is sometimes included with Prolozone.  Dr. Shallenberger’s observations indicated that the effects of ozone therapy are not blocked by anti-inflammatory medications like corticosteroids – they actually seem to work well together. This indicates that Prolozone therapy is very different from “prolotherapy”, which creates inflammation in order to work.

Oxygen Usage of Cells

Prolozone is based on the theory that part of a body tissue (like muscle, joint, ligament, tendon etc.) can become trapped in a state of reduced oxygen usage after an injury, for example. This means the cells are not using oxygen properly to generate the energy they require to function. The affected body part can also be painful. The ozone in the Prolozone therapy restores oxygen usage of cells, allowing the tissue to heal and return to normal function. Pain also is reduced or disappears completely.

Ligaments, cartilage, tendons and joints are parts of the body that have low blood flow and reduced oxygen levels already. As we grow older, our circulation tends to decrease, making these tissues more susceptible to a decrease in oxygen usage and delays in healing. To compound the problem, injury produces swelling and inflammation which causes further localized decrease in oxygen usage by the cells. Lactic acid is produced, there is free radical damage and cell death, all of which cause chronic pain.

Even though stem cells may be directed to the injured area, and growth factors released, healing does not occur. None of these mechanisms can be effective because of a lack of adequate oxygen usage of the cells. Prolozone breaks the cycle, allowing the cells and tissues to heal themselves.

What to Expect With Prolozone Therapy

The first thing that most patients notice after a Prolozone injection is an immediate decrease in pain. This is in due to the procaine (local anesthetic). Immediate pain reduction or elimination confirms the injection has been correctly placed. As the procaine wears off after an hour or two, pain relief is sustained. That is the effect of ozone, which also has the ability to directly relieve pain and stimulate healing. Even if the injection is not placed perfectly, there can be a gradual pain reduction over a day or 2 after the injection.

Areas of the body that have degenerated (like arthritic knees, shoulders or hips) are able to regenerate with Prolozone therapy. Cartilage can re-grow in worn joints. Significant side effects from Prolozone have not been observed. It is possible to have an allergy to one of the components of the injection, and rarely pain can increase for a day or two initially, then go down. Elaborate gowns, masks, sterile drapes and sterile gloves are typically not required for Prolozone joint injections. This is because infection is rare since ozone kills bacteria and viruses.

What Can be Treated With Prolozone

The following is a list of conditions that have been found to be very responsive to Prolozone:

• sports injuries
• chronic neck and back pain from any cause
• rotator cuff injuries
• degenerative and arthritic hips, knees, ankles and other joints
• degenerated discs
• plantar fasciitis and other fascial pain
• carpal tunnel syndrome
• TMJ pain
• sciatica
• neuromas
• tennis elbow
• sinus infections
• pelvic pain disorders
• dental infections
• chronic post-surgical pain
• non-healing fractures
• painful scars

Comparison of Prolozone to Prolotherapy

1. Ozone directly stimulates oxygen usage in damaged areas of the body (this is the main reason why these areas don’t heal). Prolotherapy does not have this action.

2. Prolotherapy is typically very painful, with the pain from the therapy often lasting for days or weeks after treatment. On the other hand, patients receiving Prolozone typically feel immediate improvement, with very little or no pain during or after the treatments.

3. Prolotherapy requires many injections, whereas Prolozone only requires a few. This means that Prolozone is faster, and typically much less expensive.

4. Prolozone involves the injection of a large volume of gas which expands into a large area of surrounding tissue. For this reason, it is not critical to pinpoint each Prolozone injection as compared to prolotherapy.

5. With Prolozone, the use of anti-inflammatory medications is not a problem (if needed), and can be synergistic. With prolotherapy, anti-inflammatory medications will interfere with the therapy.

Prolozone is especially effective when used in joints. It can stimulate the regeneration of damaged cartilage in knees, shoulders, ankles, and hips.

Prolozone and PRP

PRP (platelet rich plasma) is a extract from your blood that contains plasma (a yellow coloured fluid) without red cells or white cells. It contains a high concentration of platelets, the cell fragments that are responsible for starting the blood clotting process if an injury occurs. When PRP injection is combined with Prolozone, the healing, repair and regeneration of the treated body part is accelerated further. The improvement patients commonly see with these 2 therapies combined is rapid and long-lasting, in our experience. For this reason, we believe it is potentially more useful than stem cell injections, and also much more affordable at about 1/10 the cost. Detailed information about PRP can be found on our PRP Therapy page.

To learn more about Prolozone and to understand how ozone stimulates oxygen usage in cells, refer to this book available on Amazon: The Principles and Applications of Ozone Therapy – A Practical Guideline For Physicians.

Prolozone Reference: Journal of Prolotherapy. 2011;3(2):630-638