What is PRP treatment? Some people call it “PRP therapy” or “Vampire therapy”. PRP treatment/therapy is a relatively simple process that can be performed in under two hours. It does not require hospitalization, and may be done as an outpatient procedure.
Unlike blood tests, where the patient is generally instructed not to eat or drink for up to 12 hours before, no preparations are required for PRP therapy. The patient is only recommended to hydrate well in advance, as higher levels of water in the body will make drawing blood easier for the doctor.
If you use corticosteroids or NSAID anti-inflammatory medicines, such as ibuprofen (Motrin) or naproxen (Aleve), you will be required to have stopped taking them up to a week before PRP therapy, and not to resume use of these types of medications immediately afterwards. They will interfere with PRP therapy and possibly nullify any results.
Platelets are the part of the blood that contain growth factors and proteins. These are very important in the repair and regeneration of damaged tissue. PRP treatment works by accelerating the body’s own healing process and bringing the healing to areas in the body that would not normally receive this healing. Your body’s joints, tendons and ligaments receive limited blood flow; therefore in most cases, it is very difficult for these areas to heal on their own. Injecting one’s own PRP directly to the injury site works by encouraging the growth and regeneration/healing of new, healthy cells.
PRP injections are used for a range of conditions,* from musculoskeletal pain and injuries to cosmetic procedures.
PRP injections may be able to treat a range of musculoskeletal injuries and conditions. For example, chronic tendon injuries such as tennis elbow or jumper’s knee can often take a long time to heal, so adding PRP shots to a treatment regimen can help to stimulate the healing process, decrease pain and enable a return to activities sooner.
Tendons are tough, thick bands of tissue that connect muscle to bone. They are usually slow to heal after injury. Doctors have used PRP injections to treat chronic tendon problems, such as tennis elbow, Achilles tendonitis at the ankle, and jumper’s knee, which causes pain in the patellar tendon in the knee.
Doctors have used PRP injections to treat acute sports injuries, such as pulled hamstring muscles or knee sprains.
Clinicians first used PRP to accelerate healing after jaw or plastic surgeries. Now, post-surgical PRP injections have expanded to help heal muscles, tendons and ligaments, as procedures on these tissues have notoriously long recovery times.
Sometimes doctors use PRP injections after surgery to repair a torn tendon (such as a rotator cuff tendon in the shoulder) or ligaments (such as the anterior cruciate ligament).
Early studies indicate that PRP injections may help treat osteoarthritis pain and stiffness by modulating the joint environment and reducing inflammation, but research is growing. PRP injections in the knee may help people with osteoarthritis. A 2015 study found that PRP injections were more effective than hyaluronic acid injections (a traditional therapy) for treating osteoarthritis. However, the trial was a small group of 160 people, so larger trials are needed for this to be conclusive.
PRP injections can be effective in treating male pattern baldness, both in preventing hair loss and promoting new hair growth. PRP can also aid in the stimulation of hair growth after hair transplants. Doctors have injected PRP into the scalp to promote hair growth and prevent hair loss. According to research from 2014, PRP injections are effective in treating androgenic alopecia, also known as male pattern baldness.
PRP injections are sometimes used as an anti-aging treatment, but there is little evidence to show that PRP reduces wrinkles and other signs of aging.
PRP facial rejuvenation naturally stimulates your body’s own collagen production, and it takes about three months for maximum collagen regeneration to occur. Most patients notice an improvement in their skin texture in the first month after the treatment. It is recommended to have 2-3 treatments spaced at 6- 8 week intervals. The results of PRP rejuvenation are long term with most patients receiving touch up treatments at one year to further stimulate collagen production and continued facial rejuvenation. For more immediate improvement, it can combine the benefits of the PRP facial rejuvenation with Botox, fillers, microneedling, and laser skin resurfacing.
PRP treatment/therapy is one of the cutting-edge pain management approaches today. It has significantly enhanced the healing process for most musculoskeletal injuries and other soft tissue damages.
Here are 5 benefits of PRP therapy:
One of the major benefits of PRP therapy is that we use your body’s own healing elements to create the serum.
To make PRP, we draw a sample of blood from your arm and spin it in a centrifuge that separates the platelets from the other components in your blood. You may be familiar with platelets’ blood clotting abilities, but these tiny cells also contain growth factors and proteins that play a central role in the healing process.
Because we use your own blood for PRP therapy, the risk of an adverse or allergic reaction is very low.
PRP is a form of regenerative medicine that supports your body’s natural healing process. When you have an injury, your blood delivers platelets to the area to stop the bleeding and repair the damage.
Though your body has everything it needs to heal an injury, sometimes the process is slow or ineffective due to the location of the injury or poor blood supply.
The PRP we use for your therapy contains a higher concentration of platelets, growth factors, and the healing proteins normally found in your blood. Our medical professionals inject the PRP directly into your injured or damaged tissue to supply the healing elements it needs to accelerate the process.
Joint pain is common and develops due to many causes, including injury, overuse, arthritis, or the general wear-and-tear that comes with age. The healing properties in the PRP reduce joint inflammation and pain and improve mobility.
We may recommend PRP therapy to ease large joint pain including knees, hips and shoulders.
Though PRP therapy time varies depending on your individual health needs, in most cases, it’s a quick and painless treatment.
After we draw your blood and create your PRP for the injection, our medical professional injects the healing cells directly into the injured or damaged tissue, which only takes a few minutes. If needed, we may use a local anesthetic prior to your PRP injection to minimize discomfort.
We may have you remain at the office for a few minutes for monitoring before we send you home.
You may experience some swelling and inflammation after your PRP therapy, but you can go back to your usual day after your treatment. We provide activity and pain-relief guidelines following your PRP therapy to minimize post-therapy discomfort and support the healing process.
Though you may notice improvements in your pain and mobility within a week or so after your PRP therapy, the healing process takes time. It may take up to six months until you see the full benefits.
PRP therapy harnesses your body’s natural healing powers to accelerate the healing of injuries, ease pain, and improve health and function.
When PRP is injected after an injury, your doctor may recommend that you rest the affected area. However, these recommendations are more related to the injury and less to the PRP injections. Most people can continue their daily activities following PRP injections.
Because PRP injections are intended to promote healing or growth, you may not notice an immediate difference after receiving the injections. However, in several weeks or months, the area may begin healing faster or growing more hair than you would have expected if you hadn’t received PRP injections.
Hair loss can be a challenging experience, affecting self-confidence and overall well-being. Among the many solutions available, PRP treatment for hair loss has emerged as a revolutionary option. This natural, non-surgical procedure harnesses the healing properties of your own blood to stimulate hair regrowth. Here, we’ll delve into the benefits,
Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) therapy has gained significant popularity in the field of regenerative medicine. To ensure the viability and effectiveness of PRP, the choice of additives in the PRP tube is crucial.
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