Prolotherapy

You guys know I'm a physical therapist. Any injuries I incur, I have the advantage of not only knowing how to diagnose but also can treat as effectively as a conservative approach will allow.  Six years ago I had some sharp trochanteric pain on the left hip and it lingered for a long time, but never really impeded training.  It would come and go over the years, be a nuisance, but never a huge deal.  For the last year it has gotten worse and worse to the point it feels like an ice pick in my hip and radiates all the way down the vastus lateralis.  Before Fantasy Camp where I knew I had to train legs with Bronco and wanted to out-leg press everyone, I literally did a 30-minute ultrasound, had my wife do some pretty deep tissue stuff all the way up and down the lateralis, and then did an ice massage - every night for 4-5 days before camp just to get that leg workout in.  Can't squat heavy, it throbs and aches when sitting, etc - just won't go away.  So I finally went to see a friend who's a physiatrist and he agreed that it was the TFL/IT band and lateralis tendons - though recently I started thinking it may even be trochanteric bursitis.  He injected me several times with Prolotherapy and had me get off the table and immediately do some squats.  No pain.  None.  Zero.  I could squat to the floor with no pain for the first time in a year.  As I was grinning and giggling (hitting my third set of squats in front of him) it was all I could do to not hug him or hump his leg or something.  Going back in for round two in two weeks.  As easy as that was, I'm then going to have him fix my neck.  That's it - just wanted to report a life-changing event.  I may actually weep or build an altar inside the squat rack next week.  My legs are going to be so big now.

Just improved my 2-mile time by 48 seconds and my injected leg felt better than my other.  I'm buying that stuff in bulk.  Maybe I can buy a membership to his office.  Craig, can you delete the thing you said about you could visualize that?  Kinda creepy, dude.  Especially since you added the word "ecstasy" on your own.  Sean's doing your next body fat check. 

Delete it?  Hell, that's easy...I wish I could get it out of my head!  It really is a disturbing picture.

Joe - I did prolotheraphy years ago with my back, hip and legs.  I did it big time.  I was actually a guinea pig.  I mean 99 numbing injections (used a gun for them and you knew it was coming because of the click) onto a total of 299 injections.  Steve was with me an almost passed out.  In fact I had it done right in the very building you're located in by Dr. Joe Wahling.  The only problem I had after two rounds was it brought out all of my old injuries.  Like I had new pain in my left knee where I'd had two surgeries and my foot and collar bone that I broke when I was younger.   It really helped my back, but the old injuries were as severe as the back pain so I had to quite the therapy.  My body is just weird like that, but it did eleviate the pain in my back and sciatic nerve area for a while.  I'm glad that it's relieving your pain.  Pain sucks!

We'll see - he wants to do it gain in 2 weeks.  As  you know, it's pretty conservative - not like cortisone.  I'm pretty sure his average patient isn't squatting heavy, etc. 

Sounds like a magic cure.  I have a pain in my right elbow and the only tricep exercise I can do with little pain is PB dips.  Any extensions cause pain. I attempted DB french press last night and had to stop immediately.  It bothered me for a couple of years now, but I was able to work through it.  Now it's worse.  I have never had it looked at by a doctor..my stubborness, instead I gave it time to rest.  I rested for a week and still causes pain.   Any thoughts?   

Yours is too acute for this - prolo is for longstanding, very chronic things.  Any tendon strain/tendonitis is going to take up to 12-18 months.  Your dealing with tissue with very little blood supply.  It will typically get worse and worse and worse and then peak around 6-9 months later and then start getting better.  Doing what you can - ice massage, any other modalities, etc: necessary.  But even moreso is to not make it worse.  Just don't do anything that hurts it.  The stretching I showed in the shoulder injury thread, the ice massages, and stretching is key, but don't make it worse.