Are All Platelet-Rich Plasma Treatments the Same?

A common misconception is some people think that all Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) is the same. Well, that’s not true. PRP can be prepared in a variety of different ways, and several different clinics will all have different ways of preparing the PRP.

What the medical literature would suggest is that the optimal concentration of platelets should be about five times greater than what the baseline level of platelets is in the blood.

If you only concentrate your platelets by a factor of 2 or 3 times, you don’t get as good as a result, and if you hyper concentrate them to 10 or 15 times, you don’t get as good results. So 5 times is really optimal.

The other thing about platelets is its important if we are injecting platelets into a joint that we don’t contaminate that platelet mixture with any extra red blood cells or white blood cells, because those cause quite an inflammatory reaction inside a joint.

However, we get superior results injecting a tendon if the PRP contains some white blood cells and red blood cells.

So the platform that we use in my office here at Pagdin Health allows us to prepare two different kinds of PRP, both of which are concentrated at a factor of 5. One is clear PRP with no white blood cells or red blood cells for injections into a joint. The other is a red PRP to contain some of the red blood cells or white blood cells, which is better for injecting into tendons and ligaments.

For more information about platelet-rich plasma (PRP) treatments for mild osteroarthritis or sports injuries visit our website: https://pagdinhealth.com or call our office today.