Dextrose Prolotherapy for Morton’s neuroma?
Dextrose Prolotherapy is a new therapeutic option in Morton neuroma patients.
Where does it work?
Dextrose Prolotherapy is the injection of hypertonic dextrose to treat muscolskeletal problems. Recent studies showed that it was promising in the treatment of shoulder tendon problems(1),(2). It has also shown to be effective in knee osteoarthritis(3).
What about Dextrose Prolotherapy for Morton’s neuroma?
Dextrose Prolotherapy has not been shown to have much effectiveness beyond joint problems such as arthritis and tendon strains. There there has been only one study on the use of dextrose prolotherapy in Morton’s neuroma(4). The study was published in a non scientific journal and the result were poor, with only 5 out of 17 patients being able to exercise pain free after dextrose prolotherapy treatment. Given the lack of research for the use of Dextrose Prolotherapy in Morton’s neuroma, we cannot recommend it.
References:
- Bertrand H, Reeves KD, Bennett CJ, Bicknell S, Cheng AL.; Dextrose Prolotherapy versus Control Injections in Painful Rotator Cuff Tendinopathy; Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2015 Aug 21. pii: S0003-9993(15)01091-6. doi: 10.1016/ j.apmr.2015.08.412.
- Lee DH, Kwack KS, Rah UW, Yoon SH.; Prolotherapy for Refractory Rotator Cuff Disease: Retrospective Case-Control Study of 1-Year Follow-Up.; Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2015 Aug 5. pii: S0003-9993(15)00594-8. doi: 10.1016/j.apmr.2015.07.011.
- Rabago D, Mundt M, Zgierska A, Grettie J.; Hypertonic dextrose injection (prolotherapy) for knee osteoarthritis: Long term outcomes.; Complement Ther Med. 2015 Jun;23(3):388-95. doi: 10.1016/j.ctim.2015.04.003. Epub 2015 Apr 8.
- Ross A. Hauser, MD , Wayne A. Feister, DO , Debra K. Brinker,RN; Dextrose Prolotherapy Treatment for Unresolved “Morton’s Neuroma” Pain; The Foot and Ankle Online Journal, Volume 5, No. 6, June 2012