Perineural Injection AKA Neural Prolotherapy for Pain Relief is an exciting, new, and highly effective form of pain treatment. It involves multiple small injections just beneath the skin along painful tender regions that correspond to small nerves. The technique was developed by Dr. John Lyftogt, a sports medicine doctor in New Zealand who has been treating patients with chronic pain since 1978. Less invasive than classical Prolotherapy, Perineural Injection Therapy consistently sees success rates of up to 80-100%.

Anyone with pain, chronic or otherwise: Individuals who have been treated in the past with multiple surgeries and cortisone injections that have nonetheless remained in pain have seen their pain disappear with a few Neural Prolotherapy treatments.

Neural Prolotherapy effectively treats fibromyalgia, headaches, tennis elbow, painful knees, shoulder pain, neck, hip, and rib pain, muscle injuries, low back pain, foot pain- Morton’s Neuroma, Achilles – and more! Generally, tendinitis, arthritis, bursitis, sciatica and muscle/ligament injuries are targeted.

A 5% dextrose solution in sterile water, it is safe and relatively harmless.

Bruising and soreness at the injection site are sometimes experienced but are not common. As with any injection there is a risk of infection or an allergic reaction however these are uncommon. No allergic reactions have yet been observed.

The nerve that innervates a joint also innervates the skin overlying that joint and muscles that move the joint. Dr. Lyftogt discovered that inflamed nerves that supplies sensation to the skin over a joint also cause pain to the muscles and tissue around that joint. He found that restoration of those small nerve functions will lead to healing in deeper structures and reduction in pain.

The working hypothesis is that dextrose solution promotes healing of the connective tissues such as ligaments, tendons and inflamed nerves. These inflamed nerves under the skin are known to cause chronic painful conditions called “neuralgias or ‘neuropathic pain’. These nerves are also able to detect low glucose levels inside the nerves and respond by causing neurogenic inflammation perceived in the brain as neuropathic pain. Lyftogt Perineural Injection Treatment™ returns tissue and nerve small fiber glucose levels to normal, eliminating neuropathic pain and reducing neurogenic inflammation, allowing restoration of tissue homeostasis or steady state.

It is also known that this ‘neurogenic inflammation’ differs from other forms of inflammation in that it does not respond to anti-inflammatory drugs or cortisone injections and this is the reason why these commonly used drugs are proving to be ineffective in many painful conditions. In addition, there is a growing awareness that cortisone and anti-inflammatory drugs are associated with a variety of harmful side effects.

(https://www.lyftogtmed.com/what-is-lyftogt-perineural-injection-treatment/scientific-rationale/)