Platelet Rich Plasma therapy is a safe and innovative approach to tissue regeneration that uses the patient’s own blood. In recent years PRP has shown to be an effective form of treatment for both tendon and joint injuries.
How Does PRP Work?
Typical concentrations of platelets in PRP are 5-10 times that found in normal blood. After obtaining blood from the patient, it is spun in a centrifuge to concentrate the myriad of growth factors and anti-inflammatory proteins in the plasma that, once injected into the site of injury, produces a powerful and permanent healing response.
Advantages of PRP include that the treatment is safe, relatively inexpensive, is an alternative to invasive surgery, produces a quick healing time and is all-natural.
How Effective is PRP?
Like many of the treatments included in the still-developing field of regenerative medicine, studies focusing on efficacy can be difficult to find. However, a recent wide-ranging statistical study published in the American Journal of Sports Medicine has concluded PRP therapy for some tendon and joint injuries can be an effective form of treatment.
The study looked at data from 37 research articles that included in total over 1,000 PRP patients that mostly suffered from shoulder and elbow pain. According to the study, PRP could provide short and long-term pain relief especially in patients suffering from shoulder pain.
While the study was not able to draw any firm conclusions on the efficacy of PRP on other tendon and ligament injuries, the researchers stated no adverse impacts were found across the group of patients studied.
To download the entire study, click here.
Are You a Candidate for PRP?
At Twin Cities Pain and Regenerative Medicine, it’s our experience that soft tissue injuries and other acute conditions are very responsive to PRP injections. A complete consultation along with a physical exam with our doctors will determine if you could benefit from PRP treatment.
In addition to helping to heal shoulder and elbow injuries, PRP injections also can be used to treat other musculoskeletal conditions, including:
- Lumbar disc disease
- Degenerative disc disease
- Joint pain from arthritis
- Meniscal/labral tears
- Tendonitis
- Partial tendon tears
- Ligament sprains or tears
- Nerve inflammation
- Plantar fasciitis
Is PRP Right for Athletes?
Many of the types of joint and tendon injuries we treat are from athletes who may be suffering due to overuse of a particular area of the body — for instance, baseball pitchers or tennis players who are constantly using the same motion.
Our experience is that PRP can be an effective way to help those athletes heal more quickly and get them back to playing the sport they enjoy.
PRP is considered a safe form of treatment for athletes. In fact, the National Football League, Major League Baseball, and the National Basketball Association, as well as the World Anti-Doping Agency have all declared PRP to be a non-performance enhancing, safe, and legal treatment for sports injuries.
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