It isn’t easy to read the future, but if you’re living with chronic pain now, your future self will likely agree that getting treatment is an urgent priority. As both patients and doctors look away from pharmaceutical pain management, alternate chronic pain therapies are moving to the forefront.
If you’ve heard of prolotherapy, it’s likely as an orthopedic technique to help your body restore ligament and tendon tissue. Short for “proliferative therapy,” the concept was adapted by New Zealand physician Dr. John Lyftogt with a different target and approach to the orthopedic procedure.
The Lyftogt Perineural Injection Technique® (P.I.T.) shares its injectable nature with traditional prolotherapy, but that’s where similarity ends. Dr. Kevin Chan and the team at Pineapple Health in Phoenix, Arizona are well-versed with Lyftogt P.I.T., a safe, non-medicinal treatment using shallow, under-the-skin injections to target chronic neuropathic pain.
The problems of chronic pain
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that about 20% of adult Americans live with chronic pain, while 8% have conditions so severe they limit daily life and work activities for a period lasting for months at the least. Chronic pain also contributes to depression and anxiety, leading to reduced quality and enjoyment of life.
Medication-based pain management therapies may contribute to the opioid crisis, as increased drug tolerance demands increased dosages and drug strength over time. It’s against this backdrop that Lyftogt P.I.T. provides a revolutionary approach in the fight against chronic pain.
Fundamentals of Lyftogt P.I.T.
The secret ingredient in Lyftogt P.I.T. is hardly a mystery — 5% dextrose solution with a neutral pH, called D5W in medical shorthand. It’s commonly used to treat dehydration, low blood sugar, and insulin shock, as well as serving as the diluting agent for other medications delivered by intravenous feed. It’s simple and safe for use in your body.
Surprisingly, D5W is the only ingredient used for Lyftogt P.I.T., which becomes effective because of the way it’s administered. Shallow, subdermal injections, using a needle that’s just one-half-inch long, target nerves in the area where pain originates.
Many cases of chronic pain seem to begin in superficial nerve trunks just under the skin. Injecting D5W into this inflamed nerve tissue literally extinguishes pain signals that these nerves send. An initial treatment typically relieves pain for up to four days, and then subsequent injections build the pain relief effects, reducing or eliminating the experience of chronic pain.
Initially developed as an alternative to deep tissue prolotherapy injections for Achilles tendonitis, Lyftogt P.I.T. expanded to successfully treat pain conditions originating in:
- Ankles
- Lower back
- Elbows
- Hips
- Knees
- Muscles
- Neck
- Shoulders
- Wrists
The micro-injections of Lyftogt P.I.T. are generally well tolerated and administered with the goal of assuring that you’re pain-free by the end of the treatment. While results vary between patients, most people see permanent pain relief after six to eight sessions. There’s very low risk for side effects since the active ingredient is simply carefully placed sugar water, a substance that your body metabolizes easily.
To learn more about Lyftogt P.I.T and whether it’s right for you, call Pineapple Health at 480-531-6001. It’s a gift you can give your future self today.