Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) For Osteoarthritis, Knee and Hip Injuries

It’s Dr. Grant Pagdin. I want to tell you a little more about platelet-rich plasma and how we would use it for injuries in the lower extremity. Platelet-rich plasma, as you know, is a subset of your blood. We take some whole blood from your arm similar to being at the lab to have a blood test. We put it in a special container and spin it in a centrifuge that gets rid of most of the white blood cells and the red blood cells, leaving us with just the platelets which are full of all kinds of great growth factors that can help in a variety of conditions.

There’s some excellent medical literature that proves that platelet-rich plasma would be superior to either cortisone or hyaluronic acid for osteoarthritis of the knee. And there’s emerging evidence that it is similarly superior for osteoarthritis of the hip. Additional conditions in the lower extremity that platelets have been used for with very good results, would include patellar tendon just below the kneecap, plantar fascia in the sole of your foot, the achilles tendon at the back of the heel, various running injuries including Pes Anserine bursitis, which is something that occurs just below the knee in the front of the tibia, groin strains, which are common in athletes, and repetitive motion injuries.

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

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