In France, a specialized natural pain relief therapy, known as Mesotherapy, is widely used for the treatment of many injuries and musculoskeletal aches and pains, sprains or strains, arthritis, TMJ, frozen shoulder and other common inflammatory conditions. Although it is not well known in the US, it’s renown is growing rapidly. It involves a local injection of homeopathic, natural and prescription medications into the mesoderm, as close to the site of injury as possible. It has been found to greatly improve circulation and nutrition to the affected area, as well as to provide exceptional analgesic, anti-inflammatory and muscle-relaxing benefits.
In sports medicine, it can greatly enhance healing and reduce recovery time, allowing athletes to get back into action as quickly as possible. Sports trauma is typically associated with significant soft tissue injuries, including ligaments, tendons and muscles. In most cases, the congestive and inflammatory reaction in these tissues is the major limiting factor in healing.
Oral anti-inflammatory and pain reducing drugs like Vioxx and Naprosin, have been shown to double the risk of heart attacks. These serious side effects, in addition to the well known tendency to cause internal bleeding, like Aspirin and Ibuprofen, highlights the need for doctors to offer patients safer alternatives. Mesotherapy is both safe and extremely effective.
Mesotherapy injectable medicines may include the following products:
- Meadow saffron (Colchicum autumnale) is a plant based muscle relaxant used in Mesotherapy
- Procaine or Lidocaine, which is an anesthetic that also softens hardened connective tissue and improves the diffusion of the other ingredients to key tissues.
- An anti-inflammatory (Melilotus – a natural plant derived medicine, or Piroxicam, a Rx anti-inflammatory medicine)
- Baclofen is a Rx injectable muscle relaxant that may be used in some cases
- Vasodilators (Ginkgo biloba, Pentoxifyline)
- Venous Congestion & Tissue Repair (Arnica, Hamamelis)
- Collagen injectable liquid medical grade extract (porcine derived collagen made by by Guna of Italy)
- These are injected into the mesoderm around the area to be treated, using the smallest needles. The syringe may contain 1ml to 30ml of medicine according to the area to be treated.
Mesotherapy can be used for the following indications:
- Arthritis: Inflammation of a joint, such as degenerative joint disease (osteoarthritis) or auto-immune arthritis (rheumatoid arthritis).
- Tendonitis: Inflammation of a tendon and/or peritendonitis
- Frozen Shoulder: adhesive encapsulitis (hardened collagen connective tissue around the shouder joint)
- Achilles tendinopathy, plantar fasciitis or extensor carpi ulnaris tendinopathy
- Lateral or Medial meniscus tendonopathy
- Muscle spasm: backache, torticollis or lumbago
- TMJ Temporomandibular Joint Syndrome
Occasional Side-Effects: Digestive problems such as diarrhea and stomach pain.
Uncommon Side-Effects: Nausea and vomiting; Skin reactions such as itching, redness, pimples, blisters or bubbles on the skin.
The main two types of contra-indications are:
- Known allergy to one of the injectable substances
- Poor skin condition.
Treatment
On average, 6 to 10 injection points are used treatment area, introducing an average of 0.1 cc mixture. If the area to be treated is larger, more liquid is injected. After treatment, no cream or ice should be applied and no massage should be used. Three or four follow-up treatments are typically given commencing on the third, seventh, or fourteenth day after the first treatment. Usually 3-4 treatments provides dramatic healing resolution for acute conditions. Repeat treatments at 6-12 month intervals may be needed for more chronic conditions.
Tolerance and side-effects
Tolerance of the mesotherapy technique was examined in a French national study of 2,839 patients. Overall, tolerance of the technique was excellent. No anaphylactic or vagal shock was observed. Side-effects essentially involved the injection site. The most frequent side-effects included mild pain at the injection points, which was frequent but tolerable. Slight bruising was minimal and disappeared in a few days.