What is Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP)?
PRP, or platelet rich plasma regenerates damaged tissues, and creates repair of those tissues in the area first. This then stimulate stem cell repair. The plasma is created by taking your own blood, spinning it down, and then injecting the buffy coat layer (between your red blood cells and the clear yellow stuff on top) into the area we are treating. It can be used for facial aesthetics to create collagen, or for tendons/muscles/ligaments to stimulate repair.
Platelets are naturally extremely rich in the connective tissue growth and healing factors. The body’s first response to tissue injury is to deliver platelets to the area. Platelets initiate repair and attract stem cells to the injury. Injecting these growth factors into damaged ligaments, tendons, and joints stimulates the natural repair process. In order to maximize the healing process, the platelets must be concentrated and separated from the red blood cells. The goal of PRP is to maximize the number of platelets while minimizing the number of red blood cells in a solution that is injected into the injured or pained area(s). In summary, PRP creates, stimulates, and accelerates the body’s natural healing process.
What Does PRP treat?
A growing number of people are turning to PRP injections to treat an expanding list of orthopedic conditions, including osteoarthritis. It is most commonly used for knee osteoarthritis, but may be used on other joints as well. PRP treatment works most effectively for chronic ligament and tendon sprains/strains that have failed other conservative treatment. It can also be effective for many cases of osteoarthritis by stimulating healing of cartilage and reducing pain and disability. This includes:
- Knee arthritis
- Hip joint arthritis
- Shoulder arthritis
- Ankle arthritis
How Does it Help Your Osteoarthritis?
When treating osteoarthritis with platelet-rich plasma, a doctor injects PRP directly into the affected joint. The goal is to:
- Reduce pain
- Improve joint function
- Possibly slow, halt, or even repair damage to cartilage
Platelet-rich plasma is derived from a sample of the patient’s own blood. The therapeutic injections contain plasma with a higher concentration of platelets than is found in normal blood.
Call the office (855) 684-3740 to find out how Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) can help eliminate your osteoarthritis pain.
