Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy is a relatively new, cutting-edge treatment that is revolutionizing the field of orthopedic medicine. It is also becoming an increasingly popular treatment for many famous athletes at both the professional and collegiate levels.
PRP therapy has the ability to repair injuries and relieve pain in the body, especially in the joints. It is associated with faster healing, a significant reduction in pain, and much lower risk than with other treatments.
If musculoskeletal pain is affecting your daily life, then PRP therapy is a treatment option worth exploring. Let’s talk about what this treatment is and how it might work for you.
How Does PRP Therapy Work?
Growth factors and proteins are found in the platelets of your own blood. These elements are there to stimulate healing, support the growth of cells, and form new tissues. The body’s first response to any soft-tissue injury is to deliver a rush of platelets to the site in order to jump-start the repairing process.
PRP therapy is a form of regenerative medicine, which takes advantage of the blood’s natural healing properties. The procedure involves extracting and isolating platelets and plasma from a sample of your own blood, and then the physician concentrates it into a healing solution. It then gets injected back into the body at (and around) the point of injury or pain.
When the growth factors interact with local cells, they trigger the cells to heal the injury. This promotes tissue formation and reduces inflammation. The PRP solution may also provide a lubricating factor.
Common Injuries Treated by PRP Therapy
PRP therapy is helping many athletes and active people who suffer from orthopedic conditions to recover more quickly and, oftentimes, to avoid the need for surgery. Research has indicated that PRP therapy may be an effective form of treatment when conventional methods such as anti-inflammatories, cortisone injections, physical therapy, and even surgery have not worked successfully.
This can also be a good option if you are sensitive to anti-inflammatory medication, if you do not want to consider surgery for your condition, or if you cannot have surgery due to an underlying health condition. PRP therapy can be used to treat many orthopedic conditions including:
- Soft-tissue injuries (tendons, ligaments, muscles)
- Rotator cuff tears
- Achilles tendon ruptures
- Tendonitis
- Tennis elbow
- Golfer’s elbow
- Arthritis
What Are the Benefits?
Although PRP therapy is relatively new to the field of orthopedics, it has been used successfully for more than 20 years in other fields of medicine – such as dentistry. Studies have shown that PRP therapy is effective at relieving pain and helping patients return to their normal activities more quickly than expected.
PRP therapy can greatly reduce the need for surgery by treating injured tissues before the damage progresses and the condition becomes irreversible. Other benefits of PRP therapy include:
- It uses the body’s own cells to stimulate the natural biological healing process
- It is minimally invasive – no surgical incisions are involved
- It can be used to treat patients who cannot have surgery
- It offers a much faster recovery period than does surgery
- There is almost no risk of infection or allergic reaction
- Lower costs than surgery
PRP Therapy in the Palm Beaches
If you have joint pain, arthritis, or a musculoskeletal injury, PRP therapy can drastically reduce or eliminate the pain and the need for invasive surgery. If you would like to know more about this amazing natural therapy or any of our other services, contact our medical team today.
You can call us at (561) 733-5888 or request an appointment now via our online form. We look forward to serving you and helping you get back in motion!
