What is the evidence for prolotherapy for achilles tendinopathy?
AMSTAR Rating
Summary
Patient Population:
5 studies (4 case series, 1 single-blinded RCT), 338 participants with painful achilles tendinopathy
Intervention:
Subcutaneous injection of 1-5ml of 10-25% dextrose +/- lidocaine
Comparison:
Eccentric loading exercises in 1 study, and no control in 4 cases series
Outcome:
Pain – Non-statistical trend towards Prolotherapy v. eccentric loading exercises alone
Patient satisfaction – Variable scales used but generally reported to be high (ranging from 50-90%)
Sonographic evidence – Inconclusive
Safety – 3 studies did not report adverse events, 1 study reported NO adverse events and 1 study (RCT) reported one calf-tear in the group with eccentric loading.
Guideline Recommendations
| Source | Recommendation |
|---|---|
| ACOEM | Not recommended |
Outcomes Assessed
- Benefit
- Harm
- Inconclusive
Prolotherapy for Achilles Tendinopathy
Pain
Patient Satisfaction
Safety
Relevant Clinical Info
This study also reviewed the evidence for prolotherapy for Plantar fasciopathy (2 studies), and Osgoode-schlatter disease (1 study). Although the results favoured pain reduction in the prolotherapy group, the low power and quality of these studies make it difficult to draw definitive conclusions. Pooling all the study data (433) for safety did not reveal any adverse effects directly from prolotherapy.
Participant Information
of participants
were Male
the sample size was 338 (4 studies reported M:F breakdown)
Mean age of 47-54 years.
their were 5 studies used.
