An Introduction to Platelet-Rich Plasma Therapy (PRP)

I want to tell you a little more about platelet-rich plasma, what it is, and what we use it for. Platelet-rich plasma is a derivative of your blood. We take whole blood from your arm, very similar to when you would go to the lab to have a blood test. We put it in a special container and place it in a centrifuge to spin it around so that it separates out the red blood cells and the white blood cells from the platelets.

Platelets are full of all kinds of growth factors that can help our body with tissue repair and healing. They also help to reduce inflammation, so particularly good for various kinds of sports injuries.

There is some very good medical literature that suggests that platelet-rich plasma is an excellent choice for osteoarthritis of the knee, as well as for lateral epicondylitis of the elbow, which is also referred to as tennis elbow.

There’s moderately good evidence for platelet-rich plasma in the patellar tendon for the knee, as well as plantar fasciitis. The evidence is emerging that platelet-rich plasma can be useful for rotator cuffs, for osteoarthritis of the hip, and for ankle sprains.

Now, some of the research around platelet-rich plasma is a little confusing because a variety of different providers use a variety of different platforms for creating their platelets and not all formulas of PRP are created equal. It’s important for injections into the joint that platelet-rich plasma should be very poor in white blood cells and red blood cells, but if we are injecting platelets into a tendon or ligament, then having some additional white blood cells and red blood cells is helpful. The platform that we use in our office here at Pagdin Health allows us to prepare either form of platelet-rich plasma, depending on what kind of condition we are trying to treat.

If you are suffering from repetitive motion injuries, or even if your hair is thinning, and you’d like to grow a little thicker head of hair, we use platelet-rich plasma for a variety of different indications.

Reference: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30353479/

For more information about our Platelet-Rich Plasma, please call the office today.