PRP is a type of Regenerative Joint Therapy in which the patient’s own blood is used to stimulating healing. It can be used to treat:
• Arthritis of the knee, shoulder, hips and other joints
• Loose (aka lax) ligaments including SI and ankle
• Rotator cuff tears
• Chronic plantar fasciitis
• Achilles tendonitis
• Tennis elbow
• Patellar tendonitis
• Hamstring tears
• Chronic muscle, ligament, and tendon tears
PRP therapy works by activating your body’s healing potential by delivering high concentrations of platelets. Your body’s first response to soft tissue injury is to deliver and activate platelet cells. Packed with growth and healing factors, platelets begin the repair process and attract the critical assistance of your own stem cells.
To create PRP therapy, we take a small sample of your blood (just like a regular lab test sample) and place it into our centrifuge that spins your blood at high speeds, separating the platelets from the rest of your blood. The concentrated platelet rich plasma (PRP) is then injected into and around your point of injury. This procedure jump-starts and significantly strengthens your body’s natural healing response. Because your own blood is used, there is no risk of a transmissible infection—and very low risk of allergic reaction. PRP therapy is less risky and more effective than cortisone injections, which offer short-lived relief and actually block the healing process.
Performed safely in our medical office, PRP therapy relieves pain and heals the injury without the risks of surgery, general anesthesia, hospital stays, and without prolonged recovery time. Patients can start to feel much better in just a few days and continue to improve as the healing progresses for up to 100 days.
Research studies and clinical practice have shown PRP therapy to be highly effective at relieving pain, healing damaged tissue, and returning patient’s to their highest function in their every-day lives. Both MRI and ultrasound images show definite tissue repair after PRP therapy, confirming the healing process. The technique is enticing because it helps regenerate ligament, tendon, and cartilage fibers so that surgery is no longer needed.
For some patents, an alternative is prolotherapy which uses a sugar solution to trigger the body to focus on healing that tendon or ligament.