Prolotherapy vs. PRP: Which Is Right for Your Joint Pain?

At Golden State Medical Center, we are dedicated to offering the latest regenerative medicine techniques to help our patients heal from joint and soft tissue injuries. Two of our most advanced treatments—Prolotherapy and Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) Therapy—are designed to stimulate your body’s natural healing processes, but each works through a unique mechanism suited to your specific needs.

Our prolotherapy treatment involves carefully injecting a dextrose (sugar) solution into the affected ligaments, tendons, or joint spaces under the guidance of our experienced medical team. This gentle irritant encourages a controlled inflammatory response, which signals your body to increase blood flow and direct healing factors to the area. Over time, prolotherapy helps strengthen weakened or damaged connective tissues by stimulating new collagen production, ultimately promoting greater joint stability and function.
 
The high concentration of growth factors in PRP helps accelerate tissue repair, stimulate collagen production, and support the formation of new blood vessels. PRP therapy is especially effective for patients seeking a natural, highly targeted approach to healing chronic or acute musculoskeletal injuries.

At Golden State Medical Center, we specialize in the latest regenerative injection therapies to help our patients recover from musculoskeletal pain and injuries. Two of the most effective treatments we offer are prolotherapy and platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections. Both therapies stimulate your body’s natural healing process, but they are best suited for different conditions.
 
Prolotherapy:
Prolotherapy is an excellent option for patients experiencing chronic ligament or tendon laxity, mild to moderate osteoarthritis, chronic low back pain, or joint instability. During this treatment, our skilled providers inject a natural irritant solution—most often dextrose—into the affected area. This triggers your body’s healing response, helping to strengthen and stabilize weakened connective tissues. Prolotherapy is especially effective when the main issue is ligament or tendon weakness rather than advanced tissue degeneration. Conditions we commonly treat with prolotherapy include chronic ankle sprains, mild knee osteoarthritis, tennis elbow, and sacroiliac joint pain caused by ligament laxity.
 
PRP Injections
For patients with partial tendon or ligament tears, more advanced joint degeneration, or injuries where enhanced tissue regeneration is needed, PRP injections may be the best choice. Using a small sample of your own blood, we concentrate the platelets and growth factors, then carefully inject this solution into the injured area. PRP therapy accelerates tissue repair and healing, making it ideal for moderate to severe osteoarthritis, rotator cuff injuries, patellar tendinopathy (jumper’s knee), Achilles tendinopathy, and certain cartilage injuries. Clinical research shows that PRP may offer greater benefits than prolotherapy when there is significant tissue damage and regeneration is required.

Prolotherapy at Golden State Medical Center involves injecting a natural solution to stimulate your body’s own healing response. After the procedure, most patients experience mild discomfort, swelling, or stiffness at the injection site, which typically resolves within a week. This means you can usually return to your normal activities relatively quickly, although the tissue healing process will continue for several weeks as your body repairs itself.
 
Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) therapy uses a concentrated sample of your own blood platelets to accelerate tissue healing. Following PRP treatment at our clinic, you may notice more significant soreness and inflammation for several days. Our providers generally recommend avoiding strenuous activities for one to two weeks after the procedure to optimize results. The regenerative effects of PRP can continue to develop over the following weeks and months as your body heals the targeted tissue.
 
While both treatments require some downtime, PRP therapy may involve a slightly longer initial recovery period compared to prolotherapy. However, individual recovery experiences can vary based on the specific condition being treated, the location of the injection, and your overall health.

At Golden State Medical Center, we are committed to offering advanced, individualized care for our patients. One innovative approach we often consider is combining prolotherapy or platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy with other treatments to optimize outcomes in regenerative medicine and pain management.
 
Our experience shows that integrating prolotherapy or PRP with physical therapy can lead to improved joint function and a faster return to daily activities. The regenerative effects of these injections often complement the progress patients make through targeted rehabilitation exercises, supporting tissue healing while enhancing strength and mobility.
 
In certain cases, we may also coordinate these regenerative treatments with pain management strategies, such as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), to help manage discomfort during the early stages of healing. However, our expert team carefully evaluates each patient’s needs, as some medications—especially anti-inflammatories and corticosteroids—can interfere with the natural healing response stimulated by prolotherapy and PRP.
 
We also recognize that combining multiple therapies can increase the complexity of your treatment plan. There is a small risk of increased side effects or difficulty identifying the cause of any adverse reactions. Additionally, while research into combination therapies is promising, it is still evolving, and not all potential interactions are fully understood.

Golden State Medical Center offers regenerative medicine treatments, including prolotherapy and platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy, to address chronic musculoskeletal conditions by stimulating the body’s natural healing processes. The center’s medical team includes specialists like Dr. Basem R. Farag, who provides both PRP and prolotherapy injections, and Dr. S. Scott Newman, who contributes to comprehensive treatment plans that may include these therapies. Treatments are tailored to individual needs, with prolotherapy using dextrose injections to strengthen ligaments and tendons, and PRP therapy utilizing concentrated platelets from the patient’s own blood to promote tissue regeneration and reduce inflammation.
 
At Golden State Medical Center, our providers work closely with each patient to weigh the potential benefits and drawbacks of combination treatments. We believe in tailoring every care plan to the individual’s specific condition, goals, and medical history, ensuring the safest and most effective path to recovery.

If you’re interested in learning more about how prolotherapy or PRP might be integrated into your treatment plan, our team is here to guide you every step of the way. For more information, please contact us or request an appointment online. We are located at 2551 San Ramon Valley Blvd. Suite 108. San Ramon, CA 94583. We serve patients from San Ramon CA, Dublin CA, Blackhawk CA, Danville CA, Alamo CA, Diablo CA, Dougherty CA, Tassajara CA, Livermore CA, and Pleasanton CA.