Subcutaneous injections of dextrose in musculoskeletal pain, a potential therapeutic intervention: scoping review

The aims of this review were to identify and to analyze the clinical studies that used subcutaneous injections of dextrose for treating musculoskeletal pain, in order to establish an overview. A systematic search was carried out in scientific databases including Web of Science, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, PUBMED and other sources, up until March 2024. We included clinical studies that used subcutaneous injections of dextrose in the treatment of individuals with musculoskeletal pain associated with tendinopathies, enthesopathy, osteoarthritis, ligament sprains, muscle strains or bursitis of various locations. Twenty studies that met the criteria were included in this review; of those, 13 were randomized clinical trials, one non-randomized comparative study and six were case series studies, comprising a total of 1226 patients. In all included studies, efficacy in pain reduction was reported in the groups treated with dextrose when comparing evaluations at baseline, short term and medium term. Subcutaneous injections of dextrose could be a beneficial treatment for reducing musculoskeletal pain; however, factors such as the high heterogeneity in the treatment schemes, uncertainty in the mechanisms of action and the level of evidence found, indicate that this technique is still under development. Injections of sugar, a sweet solution against pain What is this article about? People with problems in their joints, tendons or muscles are often in pain, and in many occasions their mobility is quite poor. Recently, medical personnel started using injections of watery sugar in these painful areas, and the results have been great. Instead of taking pain killers, or pay for expensive treatments (such as massages, application of heat, injections of steroids, etc.), liquid sugar is injected around the painful area and the pain eases or even goes away completely for many weeks. This information was found on the Internet, in medical studies. What were the results? Several people who have joint pain, tendon pain or muscle pain received a few injections of liquid sugar; then, little by little, they felt less and less pain. These people said that the pain was gone for weeks or even months after receiving the injections; they also loved the fact that they did not feel any negative effects. What do the results of the study mean? Because the injections of liquid sugar have a low cost and are easy to apply, they should be used more often in people who suffer pain in joints, tendons and/or muscles, and forget about more problematic treatments. More medical studies have to confirm this.