Platelet-Rich Plasma Therapy for Healing

Platelet-rich plasma therapy is a revolutionary treatment that eases pain by encouraging long-lasting healing of musculoskeletal conditions. This non-surgical procedure provides an alternative treatment for athletes and active individuals who are suffering from chronic pain, tendon injuries, or osteoarthritis. PRP Therapy uses platelets from your own blood to repair a damaged tendon or cartilage. PRP Therapy is not only effective for combating pain, but also helps boost the healing process. Athletes, eliminate the usual downtime you experience after an injury and decrease the likelihood of reinjury with PRP therapy. The last thing you want is to risk a more serious injury that would require surgical treatment or a permanent disability. PRP can protect you.

Platelet-Rich Plasma Therapy: What Is It?

Platelet-rich plasma first got its start in 1987 as an effective tool to curb pain in patients. This therapy began to become popular as high-profile athletes such as Tiger Woods and Rafael Nadal have used it and seen results. Platelet-rich plasma is used as a treatment for pain for musculoskeletal conditions and other soft-tissue injuries. This therapy is a non-surgical, non-pharmaceutical approach to treating sports injuries and chronic conditions using platelets in your blood. Platelets work to repair the body after injury. According to John Hopkins Medicine, platelets “are the cells that circulate within our blood and bind together when they recognize damaged blood vessels.” That binding creates a blood clot and the injury can stop bleeding and begin the healing process

How Does This Therapy Work?

When you have a soft-tissue injury, your body begins the healing process immediately. It’s first response is to deliver platelet cells containing growth and healing factors to the injured area. These platelets also have assistance from your stem cells to rebuild and regrow the injured tissue. Because platelets already are involved in the healing process, we boost that process through platelet-rich plasma therapy. We promote your body’s natural healing process by delivering a rich dose of extra platelets to the site of an injury. Where do we get those platelets? From you!

This therapy takes 1-2 hours from start to finish. We take a sample of your blood similar to the amount that is taken when your blood is tested. Then we place your blood in a centrifuge to separate the platelets from your blood. We then use that rich amount of platelets and inject them into the site of your injury, where they then go to work to repair your tissues. An ultrasound machine is used to know exactly where to deliver the platelet-rich plasma so it gives your body the most benefits. We essentially increase your platelet dose immensely so you heal quicker.

PRP Helps Injuries

The main goal of PRP therapy is to speed up your healing process. Athletes heavily use PRP therapy for healing while pairing it with physical therapy to achieve maximum results. With soft-tissue injuries, we suggest resting for the first 6 weeks with PRP therapy followed by 6-12 weeks of physical therapy. We have physical therapy services that can be catered to your specific injury. With platelet-rich plasma therapy, you may need more than one injection as you do physical therapy if you have a more complex injury. The combination of PRP and physical therapy has helped many heal from their injuries and get back in the game quicker than those who haven’t utilized these services.

Platelet-rich plasma therapy can be used for injuries such as:

• Tennis Elbow
• Golf Elbow
• Pelvic Pain
• Damaged Wrist Ligament
• Hip Impingement Syndrome/Impingement Syndrome
• Achilles Tendonitis
• Rotator Cuff Tear
• Impingement
• SLAP
• Adhesive Capsulitis: Frozen Shoulder
• Acromioclavicular Joint
• Degenerative Osteoarthritis
• Meniscus Injury
• Chondromalacia Patellar
• Anterior Cruciate Ligament
• Medial Collateral Ligament
• Patella Ligament: Jumper’s Knee

How Can PRP Benefit You?

PRP can help eliminate the downtime an athlete experiences after an injury. The help and healing received with PRP therapy can also reduce your risk for reinjury. Reinjuring a muscle could lead to surgical treatment or permanent disability. PRP therapy seeks to help reduce your risk for a serious reinjury to occur. We seek natural solutions without surgery, general anesthesia, narcotic pain medications, hospital stays or prolonged recovery. Platelet-rich plasma therapy can also aid in:

• Reducing inflammation
• Promoting faster soft-tissue healing
• Combating infection
• Eliminating narcotic requirements
• Improve problems associated with osteogenesis

Your Free Consultation

The goal of our PRP therapy is to relieve your pain through natural healing methods while promoting long-lasting results. After you have finished your PRP therapy, we can provide you ultrasound images to confirm your tissue repair. If you have moderate osteoarthritis or have a musculoskeletal condition or injury, platelet-rich plasma therapy can help speed up your recovery process. If you are interested in receiving this therapy, contact our team at Texas Spine & Sports Therapy Center by calling (512) 806-0015 today!