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Dextrose prolotherapy for knee osteoarthritis: a randomized controlled trial
David Rabago1, Jeffrey J Patterson, Marlon Mundt
1Department of Family Medicine, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin 53715, USA. david.rabago@fammed.wisc.edu
Annals of Family Medicine
|May 22, 2013
Summary
Dextrose prolotherapy significantly improved pain and function in knee osteoarthritis patients compared to saline injections and exercise. This injection therapy offers a clinically meaningful, sustained benefit for chronic knee pain management.
Area of Science:
- Orthopedics
- Regenerative Medicine
- Pain Management
Background:
- Knee osteoarthritis (OA) is a prevalent and disabling chronic condition.
- Prolotherapy is an injection-based treatment for chronic musculoskeletal pain.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the efficacy of dextrose prolotherapy for knee osteoarthritis.
- To compare prolotherapy against blinded saline injections and at-home exercise.
Main Methods:
- A 3-arm, blinded randomized controlled trial was conducted.
- Ninety adults with painful knee OA received dextrose prolotherapy, saline injections, or exercise.
- Outcomes included WOMAC scores, knee pain scale, opioid use, and satisfaction.
Main Results:
- All groups showed improved WOMAC scores at 52 weeks.
- Dextrose prolotherapy demonstrated significantly greater improvement in WOMAC scores compared to saline and exercise.
- Prolotherapy also led to greater improvement in individual knee pain scores.
Conclusions:
- Prolotherapy provides clinically meaningful and sustained improvements in pain, function, and stiffness for knee OA.
- The treatment was well-tolerated with no adverse events reported.
