Here’s What Makes PRP Therapy So Effective

Every now and then, a new procedure or treatment approach seems to sweep through and be the answer for all your woes. If you’re skeptical, it’s with good reason. “Trendy” isn’t a word that should ever apply to medical procedures.

Right now, it seems as if platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy is one of those new treatments that’s recommended for a wide variety of problems. However, PRP therapy is everywhere because it’s effective -- not because it’s trendy.

There are several factors that make PRP an especially effective treatment approach. We’ll discuss a few of them in this post. But first it may be helpful to describe what PRP therapy actually is.

Platelet-rich plasma explained

Your blood is composed of various types of cells, including red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets, as well as plasma (the liquid portion of blood). Platelets are especially important for PRP therapy, because they’re part of your body’s healing response and contain special proteins called growth factors.

When you have PRP therapy, some of your blood is drawn, and then the components are separated. The platelets are isolated and then mixed with a small amount of plasma to make PRP.

Dr. Spiegel carefully injects the platelet-rich plasma into the area of your body that is injured or needs to heal. For example, if you have osteoarthritis in your knee, he injects the PRP into the damaged tissue surrounding your knee joint.

Uses of PRP therapy

Surgeons have used PRP therapy during surgeries to repair ruptured tendons for many years. More recently, the therapy has become popular for treating soft tissue injuries, musculoskeletal problems, arthritis, and even hair loss.

Dr. Spiegel frequently uses the therapy to speed healing for conditions such as:

• Repetitive use injuries, such as tennis elbow
• Rotator cuff injuries
• Arthritis
• Plantar fasciitis
• Muscle tears
• Achilles tendinitis
• IT band injuries

PRP therapy is effective in treating problems with your tendons, ligaments, muscles, and bones, among other tissues.

Efficacy of PRP

Researchers are still learning exactly how and why PRP works. The results our patients have seen with the therapy are impressive.

There are several reasons PRP is an effective treatment:

1. There’s a very low risk that you’ll have an adverse reaction. After all, PRP therapy uses your own body’s healing properties. The injection is made up of materials your body produced so the chance that you’ll have an allergy to the substances is extremely low.
2. The injection of healing, platelet-rich plasma is made directly into the tissue where it’ll do the most good. When you take a pill, the medication must travel through your digestive system before it can be absorbed and do its work. PRP therapy is more direct.
3. Platelets contain growth factors and other specialized proteins that go to work to heal the area where they’re injected. They also draw in other resources needed to rebuild injured tissues.

If you’d like to learn more about PRP therapy and find out if you’re a candidate for this amazing therapy, make an appointment with Dr. Spiegel today. You can book online using our scheduling tool, or give us a call during regular business hours.