Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is a minimally invasive, non-surgical treatment for acute or chronic musculoskeletal injuries designed to enhance the body’s natural healing reaction to an injury. PRP is a concentrate of healing cells and molecules from one’s own blood that can be injected directly into an injury to further stimulate healing and relieve pain in a much more potent form.
Certain tissues of the body have a reduced healing capacity, which is thought to be due in part to poor blood supply. In these areas in particular, PRP injections can prove very effective at relieving pain and healing an injury. If PRP is indicated, for an injury case we will take a sample of the patient’s blood, concentrate the healing elements and platelets in the blood, and inject this directly into the area of injury. We use ultrasound or fluoroscopic guidance to be confident that the cells are injected directly into the right location. The whole procedure can be done in the office in about an hour. We incorporate rehabilitation into the treatment plan to optimize healing and recovery.
Conditions effectively treated with PRP include:
- Tendonitis and tendon tears
- Ligament sprains and tears
- Mild-moderate Arthritis
- Nerve injury
- Commonly treated injuries include rotator cuff tears, knee osteoarthritis, meniscal tears, tennis elbow, jumper’s knee, low back pain…
