It is no secret that oxygen is central to life. But it is not just the act of breathing that is essential. We need oxygen flowing through every cell in our body to function, stay healthy and keep moving. Equally important is the role that oxygen plays in supporting the body’s natural healing processes. Without sufficient oxygen, we lack the critical building blocks our body needs to repair itself, resulting in discomfort and physical limitations.
In addition, trauma and age-related degeneration often lead to pain, inflammation and spasm, which can reduce mobility and blood flow in and around the damaged tissue.
This is where Prolozone Therapy can help. The primary effect of the therapy is to increase blood flow into an area of damaged tissue, which then increases nutrition and hydration to the tissues. In this Q&A with Dr. Lisa Barr, she explains how this alternative, nonsurgical treatment is being used—and how it can help people overcome painful conditions that limit their mobility.
What is Prolozone Therapy?
Prolozone is a regenerative medicine injection made up of ozone (a gas composed of three oxygen atoms) and other substances which vary based on the condition we are treating. When inflammation is the problem, we can add ozone gas to a cortisone injection; and when regeneration is the goal, we can add ozone gas to platelet-rich plasma (PRP) or other regenerative solutions.
Once injected into a painful degenerative or injured joint, Prolozone can increase blood flow, inhibit inflammation, reduce risk of infection and stimulate growth factors and collagen production in damaged tissues. It can even potentially regenerate cartilage in degenerative joints. Unlike liquids, when ozone gas is injected, it quickly diffuses into the damaged tissue. It can also reduce the discomfort that often follows PRP or other stem cell-like injections.
Prolozone Therapy supports the body’s inherent healing power by delivering ozone directly to the area of concern, addressing the underlying causes of musculoskeletal pain and restoring one’s ability to lead an active life.
How does Prolozone Therapy work?
Ozone is a powerful healing agent that consists of three oxygen molecules (O3), instead of the two found in the oxygen we breathe (O2). Prolozone treatment combines medical grade ozone gas with anti-inflammatories, growth factors and other substances injected directly into the damaged tissue. This has positive effects on the body:
Ozone increases oxygen in the area to stimulate blood flow, and it improves oxygen utilization in damaged tissues. The anti-inflammatory effects of ozone reduce swelling, ease pain and promote blood circulation and reduce free radical production. The release of growth factors, which are critical to jumpstart the healing process on a cellular level, leads to tissue regeneration. Energy production. Ozone acts as a switch to convert NADH to NAD in the cell, resulting in one very important thing—enhanced energy production needed for healing. https://barrcenter.com/staging-2025/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/body-cells-under-a-microscope.jpg_s1024x1024wisk20cSgVVoi5DR-7wpXPRdnA5eoH1OntJLF3bv44kgO5Rcc8-e1693320114258.jpg
Together, these processes facilitate your body’s natural ability to heal. A personalized treatment protocol can help your pain subside naturally and stabilize the damaged area by healing damaged tissue and enhancing one’s activity tolerance.
What is the role of ozone in Prolozone Therapy?
Ozone helps in the production of antioxidants, which inactivate free radicals. By reducing free radicals in a painful area, you can reduce oxidative stress on the tissue and system. Ozone is active in the body for 3-7 days post injection. When patients undergo Prolozone Therapy for an arthritic or damaged joint, both inflammation and pain decrease, allowing for easier mobility.
When Prolozone Therapy is combined with PRP, the ozone can activate growth factors in the PRP and stimulate growth factor release in the surrounding tissue of a damaged joint, ligament or tendon. This enhances, or jumpstarts, the body’s natural ability to heal itself and replace damaged tissue with new, healthier tissue. With healthy connective tissue supporting the joints, one can move freely and without unbearable pain.
What conditions can Prolozone Therapy treat?
Prolozone Therapy can help to treat and repair the following conditions:
Back pain Carpal tunnel syndrome Chronic neck pain Degenerative discs in the spine Elbow pain Foot and ankle pain Hip arthritis or bursitis Knee arthritis Scars Sciatica Shoulder pain or bursitis Torn rotator cuff in the shoulder Tendonitis and tendon tears Wrist pain Stubborn trigger points Back pain Carpal tunnel syndrome Chronic neck pain Degenerative discs in the spine Elbow pain Foot and ankle pain Hip arthritis or bursitis Knee arthritis Scars Sciatica Shoulder pain or bursitis Torn rotator cuff in the shoulder Tendonitis and tendon tears Wrist pain Stubborn trigger points The applications of Prolozone Therapy are numerous and growing. If you are struggling with nearly any kind of pain, this therapy may help. If you do not see your condition listed here, call us for a consultation to see if Prolozone Therapy may help you.
In what ways does Prolozone Therapy differ from conventional solutions for pain relief?
The conventional solutions to many types of musculoskeletal and joint pain are prescription medications, cortisone injections or invasive reconstructive surgeries. Prolozone injections can address most of the same musculoskeletal issues with a non-addictive, minimally invasive procedure performed in the office. Injecting damaged tissue with a high concentration of medical grade ozone increases the oxygen and ozonides in the area, allowing the body to return to health. Prolozone injections restore damaged tissues to a better state of health by increasing circulation, stimulating oxygen metabolism, activating the immune system and eliminating harmful viruses, fungi, bacteria and yeast.
Is Prolozone Therapy safe and effective?
Prolozone Therapy is a safe, revolutionary regenerative medicine technique that is mostly used to treat damaged soft tissues, cartilage and joints. Like other regenerative medicine therapies, this is considered an alternative, non-surgical treatment. It is not FDA approved or covered by Medicare or commercial health insurance.
Prolozone injections have demonstrated a high rate of success in relieving pain. Some patients feel relief immediately; and in some cases, the pain does not return. In addition, patients report experiencing decreased inflammation, increased mobility and flexibility and improved quality of life.
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The number of injections one might need varies but the average is 3-5 sessions of injections. This may vary from patient to patient and depends on several variables, including the patient’s state of health.
The great benefit of Prolozone is that it is not only a treatment for pain. Because it promotes tissue regeneration, it helps repair the source of the pain, which can mean a permanent fix to the issue. If you suffer from chronic pain or lack of mobility in one or more joints, Prolozone Therapy may be the right choice to address your joint pain. Prolozone can also help those with severe arthritis.
How does one feel following Prolozone Therapy?
Following Prolozone Therapy, you can expect your joint pain to gradually decrease—and to, hopefully, go away completely. After a brief initial period of soreness, many patients report experiencing a 50-80% decrease in joint pain. If your injections were in a joint, then you may feel and hear the gas moving around in the joint for up to a week.
Prolozone Therapy at the Barr Center
At the Barr Center we routinely assess each of our patients to determine how to best optimize their recovery. This may require addressing biomechanical issues and compensatory patterns, as well as correcting posture, gait and ergonomics. Our goal is to optimize each person’s ability to heal. For this reason, we often administer Prolozone injections as part of an overall treatment plan.
Potential side effects are limited but could include: allergic reaction, infection, temporary bruising, swelling, soreness and dizziness. We are happy to assess people to help them understand which Prolozone injection option is best for them. The cost of Prolozone varies, based on the solution injected and the site of the pain. To increase accuracy of our injections we will use either ultrasound or X-ray guidance. This gives us a more accurate way to target damaged or degenerated tissues and optimize healing.
To determine if you may be a suitable candidate for Prolozone Therapy, contact us at 757-578-2260 to schedule an appointment at Barr Center for Innovative Pain & Regenerative Therapies. We are excited to share this amazing new therapy with you.
