Prolotherapy research and reviews from Ross Hauser, MD.

Ross Hauser, MD
Caring Medical Florida and the Hauser Neck Center
9738 Commerce Center Court
Fort Myers, FL 33908
Phone: 239-308-4701
Websites: Prolotherapy Information
Email: drhauser@caringmedical.com

Ross Hauser, MD, is considered to be one of the leading experts, researchers and innovators in the field of Prolotherapy, Platelet Rich Plasma Therapy, and Stem Cell Therapy for osteoarthritis and joint repair.

Reviews Hemwall-Hackett Prolotherapy Treatments


Ross Hauser, MD is one of the few doctors who has been practicing Prolotherapy on a full time basis since 1993. The Hemwall-Hackett Prolotherapy Technique embraced by many physicians was taught directly to him by Gustav A. Hemwall, MD, who learned it from the originator of Prolotherapy, George S. Hackett, MD.

Having worked alongside Dr. Hemwall for years, Dr. Hauser quickly gained immense experience and wisdom with regards to treating patients in pain. Dr. Hauser was given the opportunity to then take over Dr. Hemwall’s practice and continue the legacy of providing and enhancing this technique for patients with pain and injuries.

H3 Prolotherapy


Dr. Hauser practices what he now calls H3 Prolotherapy. In short, this comprehensive technique of Prolotherapy means treating all of the structures that are causing the pain. This involves providing many injections (vs just 1 or 2 shots) in order to treat the entire area that is causing the pain. it also involves adjusting the Prolotherapy injection solution to fit the patient’s individual needs and can include ultrasound-guided nerve release, neural Prolotherapy, fatty acid extract, Prolozone™, cellular solutions (including bone marrow or fat stem cells or platelet rich plasma), among other nutrients. Protocols are individualized to aggressively treat and correct a patient’s condition in order to offer the most promising curative results and help the patient attain his or her functional goals.

Platelet Plasma Therapy and Stem Cell Therapy


Platelet Rich Plasma: Dr. Hauser was one of the first Prolotherapy doctors to add platelet rich plasma to his practice. Platelet rich plasma is used as the Prolotherapy solution and is enhanced with growth factors from the patient’s blood. Dr. Hauser uses PRP to treat joint injuries such as arthritis, arthrofibrosis, cartilage defects, meniscus injuries, labrum tears, and other joint injuries.

Stem Cell Therapy for Osteoarthritis


Dr. Hauser uses healing cells from the patients’ bone marrow or fat for injections into the injured joints, ligaments, and/or tendons. Dr. Hauser obtains the bone marrow from either the tibia or the iliac crest in an in-office procedure. The bone marrow is then injected into the injured area(s) and the surrounding area(s) are also treated with Hackett-Hemwall dextrose Prolotherapy. Stem cell Prolotherapy from fat (lipoaspirate) in Dr. Hauser’s practice involves aspirating the fat from the love handle or abdominal area and combining this with PRP, processing, and then injecting into the patients’ injured area(s).

Stem cell injections combined with H3 (Hackett-Hemwall-Hauser) Prolotherapy will form living tissue that can be just as strong or stronger than the original damaged tissue(s).

Prolotherapy research from Ross Hauser, MD


Prolotherapy or Surgery for Shoulder Instability

In published research in the Journal of Prolotherapy, Ross Hauser, M.D, et al. investigated the outcomes of patients undergoing Hackett-Hemwall dextrose Prolotherapy treatment for unresolved shoulder pain at a charity clinic in rural Illinois.

  • A sample of 94 patients were studied with an average of 53 months of unresolved shoulder pain that were treated quarterly with Prolotherapy.
  • An average of 20 months following their last Prolotherapy session, patients were contacted and asked numerous questions in regard to their levels of pain and a variety of physical and psychological symptoms, as well as activities of daily living, before and after their last Prolotherapy treatment.
  • The results of this study showed that patients had a statistically significant improvement, showing decline in their level of pain, stiffness, and crunching sensations (crepitation),  including the 39% of patients who were told by their medical doctors that there were no other treatment options for their pain and the twenty-one percent who were told that surgery was their only option.
  • Over 80% of all patients experienced improvements in sleep, exercise ability, anxiety, depression, and overall disability with Prolotherapy. Ninety-seven percent of patients received pain relief with Prolotherapy. “1

Prolotherapy or Surgery for Knee Osteoarthritis and ligament damage

In published research in the Journal of Prolotherapy, Ross Hauser, M.D, et al. investigated the outcomes of patients undergoing Hackett-Hemwall dextrose Prolotherapy treatment for unresolved knee.

  • The results of this study showed that patients had a statistically significant improvement in symptoms and decline in their level of pain, stiffness, crunching sensation, and improvement in their range of motion with Prolotherapy.
  • More than 80% showed improvements in walking ability, medication usage, athletic ability, anxiety, depression, and overall disability with Prolotherapy.
  • Ninety-six percent of patients felt Prolotherapy improved their life overall. 2

Prolotherapy or Surgery  for elbow pain

In published research in Practical Pain Management, Ross Hauser, M.D, et al, demonstrated that Prolotherapy used on patients with an average duration of four years and one month of unresolved elbow pain—and interviewed thirty-one months out from their last prolotherapy session—was shown in this observational pilot study to improve patients’ quality of life.

  • Patients reported less pain, stiffness, depression and anxiety, pain medication usage, as well as improved range of motion, sleep, and exercise ability. This included patients who were told by their medical doctor(s) that no other treatment options for their unresolved elbow pain existed.
  • Over 73% of participants reported that improvement in their elbow pain and stiffness since receiving their last prolotherapy treatment had continued unabated to the day of being questioned. 3

Prolotherapy or Surgery  for hip pain

In published research in the Journal of Prolotherapy, Ross Hauser, M.D, et al, studied sixty-one patients, representing 94 hips who had been in pain an average of 63 months, were treated quarterly with Prolotherapy.

  • This included a subset of 20 patients who were told by their medical doctor(s) that there were no other treatment options for their pain and a subset of eight patients who were told by their doctor(s) that surgery was their only option.
  • In these 94 hips, pain levels decreased from 7.0 to 2.4 after Prolotherapy;
  • 89% experienced more than 50% of pain relief with Prolotherapy;
  • more than 84% showed improvements in walking and exercise ability, anxiety, depression and overall disability;
  • 54% were able to completely stop taking pain medications. 4

Prolotherapy or surgery for wrist pain

Wrist pain is a common complaint, usually as a result of overuse, repetitive strain, or trauma, at work or during sports. In a retrospective study published in Practical Pain Management, Ross Hauser, M.D. reports on patients treated during 2000 to 2005 with dextrose prolotherapy for unresolved wrist pain (with an average pain duration of 52 months) at a volunteer charity clinic in rural Illinois.

  • Improvements in many quality of life parameters were achieved in this patient population who received the Prolotherapy for their wrist pain.
  • This patient population experienced wrist pain for an average of four years and four months prior to receiving treatment.
  • Upon interview at twenty-two months, on average, after their last prolotherapy sessions, this study revealed improvement in patients’ quality of life parameters such as pain, stiffness, depression and anxiety, medication usage, as well as range of motion, sleep, and exercise ability.
  • This included patients who were told no other treatment options existed or that surgery was their only option for their unresolved wrist pain.
  • Ninety percent of patients had 50% or more pain relief and 88% felt improvement in their stiffness levels.
  • All patients who were taking pain medications prior to receiving prolotherapy were able to reduce the frequency of required medications after receiving prolotherapy.5

Prolotherapy or surgery for articular cartilage repair

Published in the Journal of Prolotherapy, Ross Hauser, M.D., introduced research that confirmed articular cartilage regeneration in five patients with Osteoarthritis “Prolotherapy improved the pain and function in five knees with osteoarthritis. All five degenerated knees showed evidence of articular cartilage regeneration in their standard weight-bearing X-rays after Prolotherapy. It is suggested that before and after X-ray studies can be used to document the response of degenerated joints to Prolotherapy.” 6

Prolotherapy is the only treatment found to stimulate cartilage repair and regeneration, as is shown by the X-rays.

Prolotherapy or surgery for meniscal repair

Published in the Journal of Prolotherapy, Ross Hauser, M.D., et al, examined the use of Prolotherapy on patients with MRI documented meniscal pathology including tears and degeneration, interviewed an average of 18 months after their last Prolotherapy treatment, was shown in this retrospective pilot study to improve patients’ quality of life.

  • Most patients reported statistically significantly less pain and stiffness and major improvements in range of motion, crepitation of the knee, medication usage, walking ability, and exercise ability.
  • The improvements with Prolotherapy met the expectations of the patients in over 96% of the knees to the point where surgery was not needed.
  • Prolotherapy improved knee pain and function regardless of the type or location of the meniscal tear or degeneration.
  • The improvements were so overwhelmingly positive that Prolotherapy should be considered as a first-line treatment for pain and disability caused by meniscal tears and degeneration.7

Prolotherapy or surgery for low back pain

Presenting findings in the Journal of Prolotherapy, Ross Hauser, et al.  investigated the outcomes of patients undergoing Prolotherapy treatment for chronic low back pain.

  • One hundred forty-five patients, who had been in pain an average of four years and ten months, and were treated quarterly with Prolotherapy were examined.

This included a subset of 55 patients who were told by their medical doctor(s) that there were no other treatment options for their pain and a subset of 26 patients who were told by their doctor(s) that surgery was their only option.

Patients were contacted an average of 12 months following their last Prolotherapy session and asked questions regarding their levels of pain, physical and psychological symptoms and activities of daily living, before and after their last Prolotherapy treatment.

  • Results: In these 145 low backs, pain levels decreased from 5.6 to 2.7 after Prolotherapy;
  • 89% experienced more than 50% pain relief with Prolotherapy;
  • more than 80% showed improvements in walking and exercise ability, anxiety, depression and overall disability;
  • 75% percent were able to completely stop taking pain medications.8

Prolotherapy or surgery for TMJ/TMD

In this observational study, Ross Hauser, M.D., et al examined the use of the Hemwall- Hackett technique of dextrose Prolotherapy used on patients who presented with over five years of unresolved TMJ pain and dysfunction were shown to improve their quality of life even eighteen months subsequent to their last prolotherapy session. All patients reported significantly reduced levels of pain, stiffness, crunching sensation, disability, depression, anxiety, medication, and other pain therapy. They also reported improved range of motion and sleep. The results confirm that prolotherapy is a treatment that should be highly considered for people suffering with unresolved temporomandibular joint pain and dysfunction. 9

Prolotherapy or surgery for Morton’s Neuroma

Writing in the Foot and Ankle Online Journal, Ross Hauser, M.D., et al studied the use of the Hackett-Hemwall technique of Dextrose Prolotherapy on patients averaging 1.5 years of unresolved pain with Morton’s neuroma was shown to improve their quality of life, which continued 13.3 months after their last session. The 17 patients treated with Prolotherapy reported significantly less pain, stiffness, disability, or use of other pain therapies, as well as improvements in walking, range of motion, ability to exercise, and performing activities of daily living.

Patients told that there were no other treatments for pain or that surgery was their only option achieved the same positive results. This study justifies the desirability and use of Prolotherapy for Morton’s neuroma pain. 10

Prolotherapy research and reviews from Ross Hauser, MD.

References
1. Hauser RA, Hauser MA. A Retrospective Study on Hackett-Hemwall Dextrose Prolotherapy for Chronic Shoulder Pain at an Outpatient Charity Clinic in Rural Illinois Journal of Prolotherapy. 2009;4:205-216.

2.  Hauser RA, Hauser MA.  A Retrospective Study on Dextrose Prolotherapy for Unresolved Knee Pain at an Outpatient Charity Clinic in Rural Illinois.Journal of Prolotherapy. 2009;1:11-21.

3. Hauser RA, Hauser MA, Holian P. Hemwall dextrose prolotherapy helped reduce pain and stiffness and clinically improved the quality of life in people with unresolved elbow pain. Practical Pain Management October 1, 2009.

4. A Retrospective Study on Hackett-Hemwall Dextrose Prolotherapy for Chronic Hip Pain. Journal of Prolotherapy. 2009;2:76-88.

5. Hauser RA, Hauser MA, Holian P.  Dextrose Prolotherapy for Unresolved Wrist Pain. November 1, 2009.

6. Hauser RA, Cukla JJ. Standard Clinical X-ray Studies Document Cartilage Regeneration in Five Degenerated Knees After Prolotherapy. Journal of Prolotherapy. 2009;1:22-28. [Google Scholar]

7. Hauser R, Phillips HJ, Maddela HS. The Case for Utilizing Prolotherapy as First-Line Treatment for Meniscal Pathology: A Retrospective Study Shows Prolotherapy is Effective in the Treatment of MRI-Documented Meniscal Tears and Degeneration. Journal of Prolotherapy. 2010;2(3):416-437.

8. Hauser RA, Hauser MA. Dextrose Prolotherapy for Unresolved Low Back Pain: A Retrospective Case Series Study. Journal of Prolotherapy 2009;1:145-155

9. Hauser RA, Hauser MA, Blakemore KA. Prolotherapy or surgery for Tempomandibular Joint Disease (TMD). Practical Pain Management. October 1. 2007

10. Hauser RA, Feister WA, Brinker DK. Dextrose Prolotherapy Treatment for Unresolved “Morton’s Neuroma” Pain FAOJ June 1, 2012

Hauser RA, Orlofsky A. Regenerative injection therapy with whole bone marrow aspirate for degenerative joint disease: a case series. Clinical medicine insights. Arthritis and musculoskeletal disorders. 2013 Jan 1;6:65. [Pubmed] [Google Scholar]

Ross Hauser, MD, et al.  Dextrose Prolotherapy with Human Growth Hormone to Treat Chronic First Metatarsophalangeal Joint Pain. The Foot and Ankle Online Journal 5 (9): 1

Ross Hauser, MD. Punishing the pain. Treating chronic pain with prolotherapy. Rehab Manag. 1999 Feb-Mar;12(2):26-8, 30.

Ross Hauser, MD., et al. A Retrospective Study on Dextrose Prolotherapy for Unresolved Knee Pain at an Outpatient Charity Clinic in Rural Illinois. Journal of Prolotherapy. 2009;1:11-21.

Ross Hauser, MD., et al. Evidence-Based Use of Dextrose Prolotherapy for Musculoskeletal Pain: A Scientific Literature Review Journal of Prolotherapy. 2011;3(4):765-789.

Ross Hauser, MD., et al. Ligament Injury and Healing: An Overview of Current Clinical Concepts

Ross Hauser, MD., et al. A Retrospective Study on Hackett-Hemwall Dextrose Prolotherapy for Chronic Hip Pain at an Outpatient Charity Clinic in Rural Illinois

Prolotherapy Information

Dr. Hauser has written extensively on the subject of Prolotherapy. You can find his articles for the patient and physician throughout this website. For the patient, Dr. Hauser has written Prolotherapy Patient Information.

Education

Chicago Prolotherapy Doctor Ross Hauser and Wife MarionDr. Hauser received his undergraduate degree in Biochemistry from the University of Illinois in Champaign, IL. He received his Doctor of Medicine Degree from the University of Illinois, Chicago. He completed his internship at Hines VA Hospital and his residency at Loyola-Marianjoy Hospitals in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and is a board certified Physiatrist (Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Specialist.)