Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) For Musculoskeletal conditions
Platelet Rich Plasma for Musculoskeletal conditions (PRP) Treatment in South Pasadena, CA
Treatments
PRP for Musculoskeletal Conditions
Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is a regenerative medicine therapy in which doctors amplify the natural growth factors found in your blood and use them to heal tissues. Keep reading to learn more about how PRP can heal damaged, diseased, or injured tendons, ligaments, muscles, and joints.
What is platelet-rich plasma (PRP) treatment?
Plasma is the liquid part of whole blood. It is the medium in which red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets are suspended. Platelets are tiny blood cells that play a key role in blood clotting. They contain growth factors, proteins, and bioactive molecules that are essential for healing.
Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is a solution that is made from a sample of your own blood. PRP concentrations can range from facility to facility. At RejuvaYou, we use an optimal concentration of PRP, 4-6 times more platelets than whole blood. PRP injections can therefore accelerate healing of damaged and injured ligaments, tendons, muscles, and joints. This treatment harnesses the power of your body’s natural healing system, amplifies it, and uses it to improve musculoskeletal conditions.
How is PRP performed?
The PRP procedure involves obtaining a sample of your blood from a vein in the arm. At RejuvaYou Medical, we obtain a larger sample (50 mL) than is usual so that we can have high concentrations of platelets and have more PRP to inject. The blood sample is run through a centrifuge machine to concentrate the platelets. The solution containing the activated platelets is then re-injected into the target area (the site of injury or diseased or damaged tissue). The injections release growth factors in the area and speed up healing.
What conditions can PRP treat?
Several musculoskeletal conditions can have improved outcomes with PRP treatment, including chronic tendon injuries such as tennis elbow, Achilles tendonitis, and jumper’s knee (inflammation of the patellar tendon in the knee). PRP is also used to treat acute sports injuries including muscle and ligament injuries. Many professional athletes have used PRP to speed up healing and return to competitive sports. Doctors even use PRP during some types of surgery, such as shoulder surgery for torn rotator cuff tendons, knee meniscus repair, and repair of torn ACL ligament, to help the tissues heal faster. PRP can be effective in people with mild to moderate knee arthritis as well.
How does PRP work for injuries? Does PRP heal tendon tears?
The increased concentration of growth factors in PRP speeds up the healing of damaged and diseased tissues such as ligaments, tendons, joints, and muscles. In this way, PRP uses the body’s own healing system to improve musculoskeletal problems in a natural way.
Research is ongoing, but PRP has been shown by some studies to effectively treat acute and chronic tendon injuries. Experts say PRP is a promising treatment that can enhance the healing of torn tendons. Also, the growth factors present in PRP have been found to reduce pain and inflammation while the tendon heals.
Can PRP help arthritis? Can PRP reverse arthritis?
PRP can be very effective in people with mild to moderate osteoarthritis of the knees. Studies show that PRP injections are safe and can reduce pain and improve knee function, thereby improving the quality of life of patients. PRP injections have been found to be particularly useful in younger patients with a milder degree of arthritis.
Unfortunately, PRP cannot reverse or cure arthritis. The treatment can, however, keep symptoms under control for up to 2 years. On average, arthritis patients get 9 months of pain relief after PRP.
Is PRP really effective? What is the success rate of PRP injections?
PRP is not a standalone treatment for musculoskeletal conditions. It is administered in conjunction with other treatments to reduce symptoms and support the body in healing injured tissues. PRP injections have a success rate of around 70-80% in the treatment of muscle and tendon injuries.
What are the side effects of PRP? Is PRP treatment safe?
PRP treatment is safe when performed in a sterile clinical setting, such as RejuvaYou Medical, by a trained health care provider. There can be some redness and swelling at the injection sites after PRP treatment. This usually disappears in 24-48 hours, but the symptoms can linger for 3-5 days for some people.
What precautions should I take after PRP treatments?
Keep the PRP injection site clean and dry. If we place a bandage on the site, leave it in place for 12-24 hours. If the bandage gets wet in the shower, change it.
You can use over-the-counter pain medications such as Tylenol, if needed, to manage any discomfort. Do not use medicines like aspirin, ibuprofen, or naproxen for pain relief.
Do NOT use ice on the PRP site because ice can reduce swelling, and swelling is needed to help you heal. You may feel more pain than baseline for a short period of time, but this will improve. PRP therapy takes time to work – it is not like a steroid shot that works immediately.
Avoid pulling, grasping, gripping, tugging, or lifting weights with the treated body part for a few weeks. Also, do not perform repetitive motions. If you have PRP injections in the hip, knee, ankle, or foot, you may need to walk on crutches for a day or two.
You will need someone to drive you home if you have PRP treatment with a nerve block or if the treatment is done on your lower extremity.
Am I a candidate for PRP therapy?
The only way to know if you can benefit from PRP injections for joint pain, muscle strains, tendon injuries, or torn ligaments is to see us for a consultation. We will perform a complete medical evaluation and recommend PRP to you if you are deemed a good candidate for this treatment.
At RejuvaYou Medical, we offer a free evaluation to determine if PRP can improve your musculoskeletal problems. We will be happy to answer any questions you have about PRP injections and other regenerative medicine treatments.
Call us or fill out the form below to set up your FREE evaluation.
References:
https://orthoinfo.aaos.org/en/treatment/platelet-rich-plasma-prp/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4049648/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19838676/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3445108/
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/45952546_Platelet-rich_plasma_intra-articular_knee_injections_for_the_treatment_of_degenerative_cartilage_lesions_and_osteoarthritis
