Prolozone Therapy in Los Gatos
A regenerative injection treatment for the joints, tendons and ligaments that keep re-injuring.
Joint pain that keeps coming back is not bad luck. Joints, ligaments and tendons run on a fraction of the blood supply muscle gets, so the tissue that hurts most is the tissue least equipped to repair itself. Prolozone is how I treat pain at that level.
- Treatments needed
- 3 – 6Usually 4 or 5
- Time to relief
- 3 – 7 daysMany feel it immediately
- Downtime
- NoneBack to your normal day
- Insurance
- Not coveredCost discussed upfront
Why pain keeps coming back
Muscle is rich in circulation, which is why a pulled muscle heals in weeks. Ligaments, tendons and joint structures run on far less, so injuries there linger, and the same structure fails the same way again. Chronic pain lives where circulation doesn't.
What is prolozone therapy?
Prolozone is a regenerative injection treatment for stubborn joint and soft-tissue pain. Each treatment is two injections placed at the injured structure itself: first a targeted regenerative solution, then medical-grade ozone.
The solution stimulates new collagen and strengthens the ligament, tendon or joint over time. The ozone restores oxygen delivery and circulation to tissue that heals slowly precisely because it is starved of both. One rebuilds; the other reopens the supply line.
What goes in the injection
The base is dextrose, the classic prolotherapy agent, which mildly irritates the tissue to switch collagen production back on. Depending on the joint and the case, I add hyaluronic acid, Wharton's jelly or exosomes, and I use neural therapy where an irritated nerve is amplifying the pain signal.
What goes into your injection follows your exam, not a recipe.
Where the evidence stands
Two therapies share the syringe, and I grade them separately.
Dextrose prolotherapy
The established half, the foundation this treatment is built on.
Medical-grade ozone
The younger half: a plausible mechanism, a growing literature, and less settled ground, and I would rather tell you that than round up.
My interest in ozone has never been mystical. It is about oxygen: reducing oxidative damage and restoring oxygenation in exactly the tissues circulation underserves. More on how I use ozone →
What treatment looks like
First visit
We start with your history and an exam of the structures involved. Where the case needs it, imaging or labs confirm what is actually generating the pain. Treatment can often start the same visit, and your plan gets refined once results are back. If prolozone is not the right tool for your case, I will say so, and we will use something that is.
Treatment day
Skip anti-inflammatories for 24 hours beforehand and wear comfortable clothing. The injections take a few minutes. For deeper or harder-to-reach structures I place them under ultrasound guidance, watching the needle onto the exact ligament, tendon or joint being treated.
Afterward
Go back to your normal day immediately. Mild soreness or a feeling of fullness around the site for a day or two is normal. We schedule follow-ups based on how your body responds, and where it fits your case I pair prolozone with ozone therapy, peptides, hyperbaric oxygen or IV support to speed the repair.
How it compares
Cortisone deserves its own sentence. It can calm a joint fast, but it repairs nothing, slows healing in the tissue it lands in, and cannot be repeated safely more than a few times a year. Here is how the injection options stack up:
| Prolozone | Cortisone | BPC 157 | Stem cells & exosomes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Promotes healing | Yes | Slows healing | Yes | Yes |
| Strengthens ligaments | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| Effect on immune system | Strengthens | Weakens | No known effect | Strengthens |
| Supports surrounding tissue | Yes, exact injection site not critical | No | Yes | Yes |
| Injections per session | 5 to 15 | 1 to 3 | 5 to 20 | 1 |
| Treatments needed | 3 to 6, usually 4 or 5 | 1 to 3, max 3 per year | 3 to 6 | 1 to 2, varies |
| Safe to repeat | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
What I use it for
Anywhere ligament, tendon, nerve or soft tissue keeps failing under load, from arthritis to old sprains that never fully resolved. The cases I treat most:
Facet joint pain, degenerative disc disease, cervicogenic headaches
Rotator cuff tears, frozen shoulder, AC joint injuries
Tennis and golfer's elbow, carpal tunnel, thumb arthritis, trigger finger
Bursitis, labral tears, IT band syndrome, piriformis-related sciatic pain
Osteoarthritis, meniscus tears, patellar tendonitis, ACL/MCL sprains
Plantar fasciitis, Achilles tendinopathy, ankle sprains, neuromas
That is a sample, not a boundary. If your diagnosis is not on it, ask me.
Who should skip it
I do not inject through an active infection or an unhealed fracture, and not if you are allergic to anything in the solution. If you are pregnant, immunocompromised or managing a serious illness, we talk it through first and sometimes choose a different route.
Why book this with me
Every prolozone injection at the clinic is mine. Regenerative injection techniques for joint, tendon and muscle pain are my specialty: prolozone, neural therapy, ultrasound-guided orthopedic injections. I have owned and run the Young Naturopathic Center for Wellness in Los Gatos since 2004, and I hold California naturopathic license number 26, one of the first issued in the state.
Prolozone gets the same three tests as every tool on this site: a real mechanism, a monitored protocol, an honest label.
Evidence tells you whether a tool is real. Patients tell you what it is like to go through it:
"I have seen my orthopedist, physical therapist, masseuse and chiropractor. I started the injections with Dr. Young about 3 weeks ago… now my knee pain is just about gone."
"I've done 2 rounds of cortisone injections. NO help. After my first Prolozone injection, I had pain relief after 15 minutes."
FAQ
How fast will I notice a difference?
Many people feel relief immediately. Almost everyone notices a real reduction within 3 to 7 days.
How many treatments will I need?
Most areas respond fully across 3 to 6 sessions, usually 4 or 5.
Is it painful?
Not typically. The common report is a feeling of fullness in the area, occasionally a dull ache for a day or two that does not interrupt your routine.
Can it regenerate damaged cartilage?
Paired with nutrition and targeted movement, prolozone supports cartilage repair and healthier joint function. I will not promise you a new knee, and nobody honest will.
What makes it different from cortisone shots?
Cortisone is a mute button: it eases the pain without treating what is causing it. Prolozone uses medical-grade ozone and regenerative compounds to reduce inflammation and repair the tissue itself.
Are there side effects?
Soreness, fullness, sometimes a mild bruise, resolving within days. Serious problems like infection, allergic reaction or nerve irritation are extremely rare. Every patient is screened for contraindications, under strict aseptic protocol.
Is it covered by insurance?
No. Insurance does not cover prolozone. I am upfront about cost at the consultation, before anything starts.
Also in the toolkit: Ozone · Peptides · The hCG protocol · Exosomes
Pain that outlasts the cortisone isn't a dead end.
If your pain has already outlasted the cortisone and the physical therapy, that is not a dead end. It usually means the treatment never reached the tissue that is failing.