When Joint Pain Won't Let You Keep Up
You've been active your whole life, and you're not ready to slow down, but an ache that's been nagging you for months has other plans. You've tried rest, physiotherapy, or chiropractic care as part of your recovery, and prolotherapy and perineural injection therapy can work alongside those treatments to help you get back to playing pickleball, running, or getting back on the tennis court. If you're weighing your options before considering surgery or long-term pain medication, it may be worth a conversation.
What Is Prolotherapy & Perineural Injection Therapy?
Prolotherapy is a series of injections that use a concentrated dextrose (medical-grade sugar) solution to stimulate your body's own repair response in the ligaments and tendons that stabilize a joint. Rather than masking pain the way cortisone does, it encourages new collagen production and helps rebuild joint stability over time.
Perineural injection therapy (PIT) is a gentler technique using a very low-concentration dextrose solution injected just beneath the skin along irritated nerve pathways. It's especially effective for chronic headaches and nerve-related pain, often bringing noticeable relief right in the first session.
Both are non-surgical, done right in our West Kelowna clinic, and require no significant downtime. Each treatment plan is tailored to your specific goals, whether that's staying active, reducing pain, or avoiding more invasive options.
Conditions we commonly treat:
- Prolotherapy (joints & extremities): rotator cuff tendinopathy and shoulder instability, tennis/golfer's elbow, wrist and thumb ligament injuries, gluteal tendinopathy, knee osteoarthritis and ligament sprains, Achilles tendinopathy, chronic ankle instability, and plantar fasciitis
- Perineural injection therapy (nerve pain): chronic low back pain, sciatica, SI joint pain, chronic headaches, carpal tunnel syndrome, IT band syndrome, and post-injury or post-surgical nerve pain
Note: deep spinal and deep hip prolotherapy require ultrasound guidance and aren't currently offered at this location.
Delivered by a Naturopathic Doctor Specially Trained in Injection Therapy
At NEXT Clinic, prolotherapy and perineural injection therapy are delivered by Dr. Bryn Bentham, ND, who is specially trained in both techniques. Dr. Bentham focuses on extremity joints rather than deep spinal injections, which require ultrasound guidance not currently offered at this location. As part of NEXT Clinic's multi-disciplinary team, Dr. Bentham can also coordinate with our chiropractors and physiotherapists when a combined approach makes sense.
What to Expect
Initial Assessment
Your Treatment Series
Recovery & Follow-Up
Is This Right for You?
You may be a good candidate if you:
- Have had pain for longer than three months
- Have tried chiropractic care, physiotherapy, massage therapy, or exercise with limited improvement
- Have a chronic tendon, ligament, or nerve-related pain issue
- Want to avoid surgery or long-term pain medication if possible
Unlike cortisone, which temporarily reduces inflammation without repairing tissue, prolotherapy works with your body to actually strengthen the injured ligament or tendon, often a better fit for pain that's been sticking around for months, not weeks.
Why Active Adults in West Kelowna Choose This Approach
For patients who want to keep playing the sports and doing the activities they love, prolotherapy and perineural injection therapy offer a way to address joint and nerve pain without surgery or a long recovery. Many patients also use perineural injection therapy for chronic headache relief, with some noticing a difference after their very first visit. Every treatment plan is personalized to the joint or condition being treated, and NEXT Clinic offers direct billing to most extended health insurers so you can focus on your recovery, not the paperwork.
Frequently Asked Questions
Prolotherapy targets extremity joints (shoulders, elbows, wrists, hips, knees, and feet) to rebuild ligament and tendon stability. Perineural injection therapy targets irritated nerves and is used for nerve-related pain and chronic headaches. We don't currently offer deep spinal injections at this location, as they require ultrasound guidance.
They work differently. Cortisone reduces inflammation temporarily; prolotherapy stimulates your body to rebuild the injured tissue itself, which can mean longer-lasting improvement for chronic conditions.
Ready to Move Without Holding Back?
Take the first step toward staying active without surgery. Book your assessment at NEXT Clinic in West Kelowna today.
