Platelet Rich Plasma Therapy may be used in an effort to help heal injured joints that do not see large amounts of blood flow within the body. This treatment uses your own blood to reduce pain and speed up the natural healing process in issues such as a meniscus tear, rotator cuff tear, or other spine, hip or elbow injuries.
Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP)
To create PRP, a sample of blood is drawn and is spun in a centrifuge – a machine that rapidly rotates its contents in order to separate them based on density. This separates the blood into plasma, platelets, and red and white blood cells. The platelets are directly concentrated and mixed with samples of the plasma, which results in PRP.
With PRP in hand, the doctor injects it into the site of the injury, which causes the body’s immune system to enter high alert and quickly react to the injection. White blood cells will flow in and begin to remove damaged cells, a natural part of the healing process to prepare for further healing. Stem cells begin to multiply, repairing the injury that has been suffered by the affected tissue. Again, the healing process is very natural, and simply spurred on and influenced by your own blood being moved to another part of the body that normally doesn’t see quite as much of it.
Patients can often go home the same day following PRP Therapy. While multiple injections over time may be necessary, this is an excellent way to reduce and relieve pain in several areas of the body.