Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections are gaining popularity for a variety of conditions, from sports injuries to hair loss. The treatment uses the patient's own blood cells to speed healing in a specific area. To create platelet-rich plasma, doctors take a blood sample from the patient and place it in a device called a centrifuge that rapidly spins the sample, separating the other components of the blood from the platelets and concentrating them within the plasma. After platelet-rich plasma is created from a patient's blood sample, that solution is injected into the target area, such as an injured knee or tendon.
In some cases, your doctor may use ultrasound to guide the injection. The idea is to increase the concentration of bioproteins or specific hormones, called growth factors, in a specific area to speed up the healing process. The mechanism behind PRP injections is not fully understood. Studies show that increasing the concentration of growth factors in platelet-rich plasma can stimulate or accelerate the healing process, shortening the healing time of injuries, decreasing pain and even encouraging hair growth.
PRP injections are used for a variety of conditions*, from musculoskeletal pain and injury to cosmetic procedures.PRP injections can treat a variety 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 injections to a treatment regimen can help stimulate the healing process, decrease pain, and allow a return to activities sooner. Doctors used PRP for the first time to speed healing after jaw surgeries or plastic surgery. Now, post-surgical PRP injections have expanded to help heal muscles, tendons and ligaments, as procedures in these tissues have notoriously long recovery times.Early studies indicate that PRP injections may help treat the pain and stiffness of osteoarthritis by modulating the joint environment and reducing inflammation, but research is increasing.
Our team of experts at the Johns Hopkins Musculoskeletal Center offers platelet-rich plasma injections to help relieve pain, improve mobility and decrease inflammation. PRP injections can be effective in treating male pattern baldness, both in preventing hair loss and in promoting the growth of new hair. PRP can also help stimulate hair growth after hair transplants.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. If you are considering injecting PRP, be sure to talk to your healthcare provider about all the benefits and risks.Ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) injuries of the elbow.
Your body contains substances intended to restore, regenerate and heal diseased or damaged tissue. However, sometimes the body is unable to get healing cells to the tissues that need them quickly enough, leading to long-term loss of function and chronic pain.At Somers Orthopedic Surgery & Sports Medicine Group, the team offers platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections to reduce pain and restore function. The practice has locations in Carmel, Newburgh, Mount Kisco and Fishkill, New York, and Danbury, Connecticut. Call your nearest office or book an appointment online today.Scientists are still exploring which patients should be eligible for PRP injections.
While no definitive conclusions can be drawn, experts recommend that patients have already tried appropriate traditional non-surgical treatments, such as rest and physical therapy.PRP is a relatively new treatment method used to treat a number of orthopedic conditions. Even though insurance considers it “experimental” did you know that there are multiple conditions that have Level 1 studies to support their use? These studies compare the effectiveness of PRP versus standard orthopedic treatment (i.e., cortisone and hyaluronic acid injections in osteoarthritis) and have shown that PRP is superior.If you're still in pain and cortisone injections, physical therapy, rest, braces, pain relievers or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs don't help they may suggest a PRP injection. The Somers Orthopedic Surgery & Sports Medicine Group team determines if you are a good candidate for a PRP injection during the course of your treatment. If you receive it for cosmetic reasons such as PRP injections for hair loss your insurance probably won't cover it.The team closely monitors your progress and may include physical therapy to help support the healing process after the PRP injection.
Others require two or three injections of PRP into the injured area to experience the maximum amount of pain relief.Once prepared it uses ultrasound-guided imaging to inject the PRP directly into diseased or damaged tissue. For innovative management of your pain and injury conditions contact Somers Orthopedic Surgery & Sports Medicine Group by phone or request an appointment online today to find out how a PRP injection can help you.You may need to stop taking certain blood-thinning medications such as aspirin and ibuprofen before you get PRP injections. PRP injections are used to treat tendon tears tendinitis muscle injuries arthritis-related pain and joint injuries. Once injected into the injured tendon muscle or joint growth factors and other healing components of PRP go to work to heal the damage.Therefore it is important to use a medical facility that has a lot of experience in performing prp injections and plasma separation and obtaining good results.Although the equipment used to produce PRP and the injections themselves have been approved by the FDA this procedure is considered investigational and has not been officially approved by the FDA for most uses.PRP injections are prepared by taking one to several tubes of your own blood and passing them through a centrifuge to concentrate platelets.
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