Efficacy of Prolotherapy With Periarticular 5% Dextrose In The Treatment of Knee Joint Osteoarthritis

Abstract

Objective: Determination of the effectiveness of periarticular 5% dextrose prolotherapy in the treatment of knee pain due to osteoarthritis.Material and Methods: The clinical results of prolotherapy with 5% periarticular dextrose in adult female and male patients with knee pain and complaints related to osteoarthritis were evaluated retrospectively. During the examination, we identified the sensitive ligaments in the knee and injected 1 cc of 5% dextrose with a 0.6 * 60 mm sterican needle. In routine practice, stretching exercises are recommended to patients after prolotherapy and for analgesia, a combined analgesic containing paracetemol 500mg + codeine phosphate 10mg + caffeine 30mg is given for the first 3 days. In addition to the initial application, prolotherapy is performed 3 times with an interval of 20 days, and when the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) score decreases by 80% or more after the first or second injection, prolotherapy is terminated. Results: 30 patients aged between 36-70 years were included in the study. Patients’ mean age was 52,9±9,0 years. Nineteen patients received 3 sessions and 11 patients received 2 sessions of prolotherapy. A significant decrease was achieved in VAS scores of all patients except one patient. The VAS score was 2.9 at the end of the third session meanwhile the initial VAS average was 8.4. None of the patients had any side effects that would terminate the treatment.Conclusion: The data obtained in the study show that prolotherapy with periarticular 5% dextrose is effective in the treatment of knee pain and complaints related to osteoarthritis. However, more comprehensive studies will be guiding the clarification of its place in the osteoarthritis’ treatment.