Platelet Rich Plasma

The Pain Management and Anti-Aging Center

A new non-surgical treatment for pain is now available at the Pain Management and Anti-Aging Center. It is the injection of platelet rich plasma (PRP).

Most everyone thinks of blood platelets as being responsible for blood clotting after injury which is true, and platelets are responsible for bringing white blood cells to the injured area to clean up the remains of dead and injured cells. Most importantly, blood platelets release growth factors that are directly responsible for tissue regeneration.

PRP has been used for years in surgical centers around the US and abroad to improve the success of bone grafting (especially in dental surgery) and also by cosmetic surgeons for speeding healing time and decreasing the risk of infection after surgery. Only in the last few years have doctors and surgeons been experimenting with injecting PRP for the treatment of chronic pain. Tennis elbow, plantar fasciitis, Achilles tendonitis/tendonosis, rotator cuff tears, meniscal tears, osteoarthritis, chronic low back and neck pain are all being treated with the injection of PRP with the goal of regenerating degenerated connective tissue with reports of success.

A PRP treatment starts with drawing a small amount of the patient’s blood and placing it into a special collection kit. This kit is placed in a centrifuge and the platelets and plasma are separated from the red and white blood cells. Two thirds of the plasma is removed and discarded and the remaining plasma is mixed with the platelets. This higher than normal concentration of platelets is called platelet rich plasma (PRP). The PRP is drawn into a syringe. The area to be treated is injected with a local anesthetic and after waiting five minutes for the anesthetic to take effect, the PRP is injected.

People generally report two days of being sore and then usually pain relief occurs within the first week and continues to improve over a period of months. In many patients only one or two treatments with PRP are necessary to heal the damaged tissue. One of the attractive aspects of this treatment is the use of a person’s own blood to eliminate the risk of the transmission of disease. It is done in the office and takes only about an hour to perform.  

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