Do You Have Degenerative Disc Disease? Try Prolozone Therapy
What Is Degenerative Disc Disease?
Degenerative disc disease is when the spinal discs in the back breakdown; something that occurs naturally with age. It is not necessarily a disease but can be considered an age-related occurrence. Spinal discs interlock the bones that make up the spine. They are soft and compressible and act as shock absorbers, allowing the spine to flex, twist, and bend. Degenerative disc disease usually occurs in the discs located in the lower back and neck. Changes in discs can result in neck pain and other conditions that put pressure on the spinal cord and nerves, which may affect nerve function.
We damage our connective tissues all the time. It is controlled damage that is at the very heart of why exercise is so beneficial. When the tissue is damaged, stem cells and blast cells are called to the area of injury. Growth factors are stimulated, and very soon the damage is repaired. You sprain your ankle, and then it heals. You break your neck, and then it heals. That is, unless it doesn’t. Degenerative disc disease is one such condition where damage to ligaments does not heal.
Why is it that some injuries never heal, and go on to become areas of chronic pain and dysfunction?
Ligaments and joints are notoriously known as areas of decreased oxygen tension. The oxygen tension in a healthy ligament is often only 1/10th that of the tissue only several millimeters away from it. The same is true for joints. These areas are setups for developing a situation that involves a localized area of decreased oxygen utilization. As we grow older, our circulation decreases. So the natural decrease in oxygen utilization that is seen in the healthy ligaments and joints of the young become even further compromised with aging Then along comes a trauma. The trauma produces edema and inflammation causing a further localized decrease in oxygen utilization. This decrease in oxygen utilization produces a localized increase in lactic acid production, free radical damage, and necrosis which serves as the foundation for sensory irritation and injury, all of which causes chronic pain.
Initial trauma, edema and inflammation result in a decrease in circulation. This compromises the delivery of oxygen and important nutrients to the localized area of damage, and decreases oxygen utilization even more. The trauma also compromises cell membrane potential, which both causes decreased oxygen utilization, and in turn is caused by decreased oxygen utilization. So, even though stem cells and blast cells are there, and growth factors are being released, healing does not occur. None of these mechanisms can be effective because of a lack of adequate oxygen utilization. The circle of chronic pain decreases oxygen utilization, which leads to a decrease in cell membrane potential and an increase in free radical damage, which leads to tissue damage and increased inflammation and edema, which perpetuates the trauma, which leads to a further decrease in oxygen utilization.
What is Prolozone Therapy and How Can It Help You?
Prolozone is a technique that combines the principles of neural therapy, Prolotherapy, and ozone therapy. It involves injecting combinations of procaine, anti-inflammatory medications, homeopathics, vitamins, minerals, proliferatives, and ozone/oxygen gas into degenerated or injured joints, and into areas of pain.
Prolozone works to break up the cycle of chronic pain and degeneration so that the cells and tissues begin to do what they should do by themselves – heal!