Lyftogt Prolotherapy: A husband’s honest assessment

As a patient at the Footcare Clinic, I am writing to give some of my thoughts on the dextrose injections – otherwise known as Lyftogt Prolotherapy – which I have received over the last 12 months or so. Before I begin, however, I feel I should make a quick full disclosure that I am married to one of the podiatrists at the Footcare Clinic – Ngan (Kim) Harwood – who is also the director/owner of the clinic. I would say that this means I am even more honest of my assessments of the podiatry treatments. As Kim would say, herself, I am one of the worst patients she has ever had! I don’t follow her expert instructions, I don’t always wear the orthotics she tells me to, and I constantly complain about everything that she does to my feet.

I have had a wide range of podiatry treatments over the years – orthotics for flat fleet, dry needling for tight calf muscles, shockwave therapy for a torn plantar, laser therapy for ongoing plantar fasciitis and achilles tendons. Yes, I guess you could call me a walking (/limping) basket-case for podiatry treatments. This has also made me the honorary Footcare Clinic guinea pig for new treatments. I have carried with me a strong sense of scepticism in regards to some of these therapies, but that scepticism has often been proven wrong. I may talk at another time about some of these other therapies I’ve been guinea pig for…

In terms of the dextrose injections, I guess my problems started around 2021, during lockdowns. With little else to do, while stuck at home, I spent a lot of time walking around the 5km-bubble neighbourhood with 15kg weighted bags. I started to develop a tenderness/soreness on my right Achilles, but in a weird place – kind of like right on the bone of the heel, where the Achilles begins. I stopped carrying the bags around, but it didn’t help. Another podiatrist at the clinic tried to improve things for me with Laser and Shockwave therapy. These treatments had worked in the past for other problems, but it did little to nothing for me with my Achilles. It continued to get worse for me over the years, into 2024. It got to the point where I just didn’t want to walk that much anymore. Where I used to go on weekend walks for 10-12 km feeling pretty good, by 2024 I was barely doing 2km walks – and it would take some time and anti-inflams to recover from.

When Kim first told me about these dextrose injections combined with laser therapy in early 2024, she and her podiatrists were heading to Sydney to do a weekend of training on it. I thought it sounded a bit… silly… She came back with a case full of syringes, needles and supplies and wanted to have a go at me. I have to say I wasn’t a completely willing patient when Kim, Ash and Kara first started on me. However, after four years of progressively worsening pain, I was pretty willing to give anything a go to make the constant pain stop.

I listened to Kim’s scientific explanation of the injections – something about dextrose numbing the nerves around pain centres, in some way or another. I can’t say I absorbed all of the scientific details. If you want to know more, just google Lyftogt Prolotherapy. All I knew was that, as a chronic sufferer of Achilles pain, I qualified for this sort of treatment.
The first session was okay. It required my to lie on my tummy while the podiatrists gently poked around trying to find sensitive spots around the ankle, Achilles tendon and lower calves. I think there may have been 10 injections, short little jabs, in those sensitive areas? After that, the podiatrist did another round of prodding, and then a second round of jabs to make sure those sensitive areas received the required amount of solution injected into them. Before and in between each round of injections, laser therapy was applied to the treated areas as well.  I am not a big fan of needle jabs, so complained loudly about them when they went in. But, I put up with the pain. For science.

Afterwards, I got up and moved around and was asked to stretch my Achilles a bit by standing on my toes. I didn’t feel much difference, the intense Achilles pain was still there. It felt a bit more numb around the ankle and Achilles, though. I was told that this treatment may take a few sessions. In the meantime, I went to the gym and worked on heel-lifts etc.

I came back a week later and went through another session of the dextrose jabs around the ankle, Achilles tendon and calves. Afterwards, I was asked to stand up and do the Achilles stretches on my toes again. I couldn’t believe it, for the first time in about three years there was no pain! I was over the moon. Kim urged caution, though – it might take more sessions to fix things properly. Sure enough, the painful burn started to return after a few days.

Now, I was keen to get more of these jabs. I returned for a third and fourth session of jabs with laser therapy. After the fourth, I was pain-free and it lasted for a few months. Kim insisted that the achilles tendon wasn’t healed, though – it was just pain-free. It was up to me, now, to ensure that I did exercises at the gym to strengthen the tendon through weights, calisthenics and stretches.

Since then, I periodically return for another series of dextrose injections with laser therapy. Once – at the end of 2024 – when I was feeling a bit sore after overworking the tendon (walking and exercise). Since then, I have had one injection in April 2025 – as preparation for a large amount of walking on a trip with Kim to South America. Besides that, I’m pain free, and returning to longer walks on weekends. Where there used to be a large painful bump on the ankle, there is now nothing.

I’m really thankful that Kim and the Footcare Clinic found this treatment. I imagine I would still be limping around in pain without it. I’ve since waxed lyrical about it to friends and family. I reckon I’ll still go back to it again, as a therapy – when I inevitably do something to irritate the Achilles again. I’m still not a fan of the jabs – but the benefits far outweigh the costs, as far as I’m concerned. In the meantime, I’m going to enjoy my walking freedom again!

Author – Dr. Aramiha Harwood (Kim’s husband)

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Do you suffer with achilles tendinitis pain and not sure if Lyftgogt Prolotherapy is for you?  Why not schedule an appointment with us ONLINE or give us a call (03) 9711 7562 today.   We’re here to help!