Prolotherapy

A morning massage helped ease the pain in my body. A great beginning to an interesting day, solely focussed on healing and health. And yes, this was only the beginning. Out and about on my bike. What an enlivening way to see the city! However, I was on a mission … The goal? To arrive with plenty of time to relax and fill out the necessary paperwork for my naturopathic treatment. Yes, I was about to embark on the path of alternative health, directed at discovering another means of pain management for my aching shoulders (yes, both pain me now, unfortunately). Jean informed me about her discovery of Prolotherapy, the fabulous Calgary Naturopath who administered it and the benefits of this new-age treatment for her joint pain. Anything was worth a shot (pun intended), especially at this point where I’ve even considered surgery.

Basically, Prolotherapy is a non surgical, pain management technique where a sugar/alcohol substance is injected into one’s ligaments and tendons (which apparently stimulates healing cells in the ligaments). In theory, this should significantly reduce pain and swelling of the affected area.

On a wing and a prayer, I handed over my faith to the Doctor and he skillfully injected the ‘magic’ solution into my upper shoulder area numerous times. Dr Jason was very very good at the administration. I found that the needle itself was incredibly small, so the actual injection wasn’t too painful (even though it was inserted directly and deeply into the muscles/ligaments). What I didn’t expect were the immediate after-effects — the small amount of anaesthetic within the injection was rather body-altering, and I felt it necessary to sit around for 40 minutes before I felt safe and sound enough to face Calgary’s downtown rush hour traffic, by bicycle.