by Frank Shallenberger, MD, HMD |
Prolozon is a wonderful treatment that involves the injection of procaine, vitamins, minerals, anti-inflammatory homeopathic medication and ozone into painful areas in the body including painful joints, necks, feet and backs. It has worked for many physicians in almost every case regardless of how serious or chronic the condition is. However, surprisingly there have been a handful of cases where the treatment did not work at all! Now there may be an answer as to why.
A recent article in the Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine may have found at least one reason – vitamin D deficiency. The article looked at six patients, all of whom had severe, long-standing back pain. All but two of these patients were over 50. One was 75 and another was only 30 years old. All of them had one thing in common, their back pain was disabling. Keep in mind that these were difficult cases. Three patients had had multiple surgeries, were on chronic pain medication and still had no resolution to their pain. Yet, every patient responded to supplementation with vitamin D.
The first case was a 63-year-old man. He was a regular attendee at the local pain management clinic, and he had been addicted to pain medication for years. He had a history of four back operations for disc protrusion, the last one being 15 years before. He was on permanent, long-term disability. When his blood level of vitamin D was checked it was found to be 20 nmol/l (nanimoles per liter). His doctor then placed him on 4000 units of vitamin D3. Six weeks later his vitamin D level was 87 nmol/l, and “his symptoms completely resolved.”
Another case was also a man, 47 years old. This patient had a long history of back pain. He required disc surgery and initially had improvement, but symptoms returned within six months. His pain became progressively worse: he had to curtail his usual activities and was no longer able to do yard work or play golf. He also used medication for pain control. We all could call this a severe case. The report does not give his initial vitamin D level. He was started on 2000 units of vitamin D3, and not long after “was able to return to his usual activities and had no further back pain. He no longer required any pain medications.”
A case involving a 30-year-old woman states, “This patient had significant back pain, which had become worse after pregnancy (a known risk factor for vitamin D deficiency). She was not able to work for a number of years. Each morning she had difficulty getting out of bed because of severe back pain. Her pain was only partially controlled with medication. She was found to have a severe deficiency of vitamin D and her back pain improved within three to four weeks with 2000 IU of vitamin D; it completely resolved within six weeks. She was able to return to work and has been gainfully employed.” Her initial vitamin D level was 18 nmol/l, which was elevated to 82 nmol/l after treatment.
These are absolutely remarkable cases. Makes you wonder how many people are going to undergo surgery and/or become chronically addicted to pain medication when all they really have is a vitamin deficiency.
It also brings to mind a case of chronic fibromyalgia that refused to respond to the alternative therapies of several experts in this field. This woman had severe pain in her neck and shoulders as well as her lower back. When I checked her vitamin D level it was 6 ng/ml, the lowest I have ever seen! I put her on 5000 units of vitamin D3 and in four weeks her level was still only 17 ng/ml. So I kept on increasing her dose until it was over 80 ng/ml. It was not until that dose was reached that her symptoms all but completely disappeared. This was one of the toughest cases of fibromyalgia I have ever treated. It took 20,000 units per day of vitamin D3 to get her to an acceptable level.
Regarding “acceptable levels, most laboratories and studies use different measurements, that of nanograms/milliliter (mg/ml). A level of 75 nmol/l is about the same as a level of 30 ng/ml. The reference range for vitamin D is between 30-100 ng/ml. Many doctors consider anything less than 70-80 ng/ml to be insufficient. Those with chronic back pain should make sure to have their level checked. If it is below 70 ng/ml, work with a doctor to establish a dose that will get it to sufficient levels.
If this does not work, find a doctor who can give you a course of ProlozoneR. Prolozone is not the same as prolotherapy. Although prolotherapy can be very effective, Prolozone has several advantages. It is not painful, whereas prolotherapy is. It works faster, costs much less and can be used to regenerate cartilage in degenerated knees. Many cases of chronic pain have never responded to prolotherapy, and were only completely cured after a course of Prolozone. To get a list of doctors who have been trained in using Prolozone visit www.oxygenhealingtherapies.com.
References:
- Schwalfenberg G. Improvement of chronic back pain or failed back surgery with vitamin D repletion: a case series. J Am Board Fam Med. 2009. Jan-Feb;22(1):69-74.
