以增生癒法治療肌骨關節疼痛之文獻回顧

Prolotherapy for musculoskeletal pain: a legend or a new hope? A critical literature review

增生療法為一在肌骨關節疼痛上應用廣泛的另類療法。由於其作用機轉仍未明朗，增生療法所施打的藥劑和部位一直沒有既定規範與流程。本文提供一實證醫學角度的文獻回顧，以了解增生療法的應用情形與療效證據。我們的回顧發現，現存研究形式的設計和規模尚屬有限，仍未有足夠的證據支持增生療法於人體的再生效果。但其相對的安全性和易取得性，仍為一種值得重視的治療選擇。未來仍需要更多的研究，了解增生療法的詳細機轉，以協助臨床工作者做出對患者最好的判斷。

Prolotherapy is widely used as an alternative treatment in several musculoskeletal pain conditions. This treatment is also termed as regeneration therapy and is often linked with new tissue growth. However, treatment protocols widely vary and the actual underlying mechanism remains unclear. We reviewed relevant studies on prolotherapy to provide an evidence-based evaluation of this treatment for physicians' reference. According to our review, the evidence of regenerative effect from prolotherapy remains limited. However, it is still often used because of its high accessibility and acceptable safety. Additional well-designed studies are required to design more efficient protocols.