As many as 70 million Americans suffer from chronic pain and many cannot find help. But a new treatment may offer "sweet relief."

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Sugar May Help Chronic Pain

Susan Jovanovic knows all about pain. She had a sciatic nerve injury more than a year ago. Nothing's stopped the pain, until this.

"Since I've been coming here I've been feeling so much better. It's been giving me hope," Jovanovic says.

Jovanovic is getting prolotherapy, Injections of dextrose-- which is glucose -- mixed with lidocaine.

"It's an injection given into damaged ligaments, tendons and muscles that stimulates the bodies own immune system in order to repair that damage creating new ligament, tendon and muscle tissue," says Dr. Scott Greenberg of Cherry Hill's Magaziner Center.

Although dr. Greenberg is an medical doctor, you won't find many giving prolotherapy.

However, former Surgeon General Dr. C. Everett Koop told NBC 10's Cherie Bank prolotherapy actually helped him out of pain.

And Dr. Koop tells me he himself has given prolotherapy injections to adults. He believes it works when ligaments are loose but he advises people to only go to doctors who are skilled at the injections.

Part of the theory is the injections cause an inflammation that causes healing, and Anti-inflammatories stop healing.

Dr. Greenberg has patients who say these shots of dextrose or sugar bring them sweet relief, especially after they've tried everything from physical therapy to acupuncture to chiropractic.

Mary Jo Hartnagel's sciatica was excruciating.

"I think prolotherapy relieves chronic pain, better than anything I tried for six months after my initial injury. I wish I had done it sooner," she says.

But many traditional doctors doubt prolotherapy's effectiveness.

"The biggest risk is people won't get the care or treatment that they might otherwise benefit from," says Dr. John McShane of the Rothman Institute. "(It's) a lot of money on something that may not even work."

Prolotherapy has been around a long time. Still, insurance companies do not cover the injections that cost several hundred dollars. Most people need six to 12 treatments and that does not bother many people in pain.

Related Resources:

Magaziner Center in Cherry Hill, N.J.

Information on Prolotherapy Injections for Chronic Pain: (856) 424-8222