An injury that keeps you on the bench — whether you’re a weekend warrior or a professional athlete — can be nothing short of devastating. You want to get back on the field, court, pitch, or track as soon as possible, but without pain and dysfunction.
Conventional recovery for soft tissue and joint injuries requires months of rest, rehab, medications, and possible surgery. But, an innovative treatment known as platelet-rich plasma therapy promises quicker recovery and less pain, so you can get back to the sport you love as quickly as possible.
If platelet-rich plasma, or PRP, therapy is good enough for famous athletes including Tiger Woods, Steph Curry, Hines Ward, and Rafael Nadal, it may just be the right treatment for you.
Blood is made up mostly of plasma, the liquid component. Within that plasma sits red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets, which help with clotting. Platelets also contain important growth factors and nourishing nutrients to heal injuries.
Platelet-rich plasma is blood that’s been spun down to concentrate the platelet count. We draw the blood from your own body, so it contains the platelets and growth factors made especially for you. We then inject the PRP into the site where you have an injury to direct healing faster and more effectively than your body can achieve on its own.
In many cases, PRP therapy actually speeds up healing time from injuries. It can get you back to your sport 50% faster than traditional physical therapy, surgery, and medications. The PRP encourages regeneration of new tissue at a rate about eight times faster than normal.
Since the treatment uses your own blood, it’s very safe with little to no risk.
With surgical solutions, your body has to recover from the injury, any incisions, and blood loss. Plus, surgery puts you at risk for infection and other complications. This slows down your ability to get back out to play.
With PRP, the process is simple and noninvasive. The team at our office draws a sample of your blood and, while you wait, it’s spun down and treated to create the platelet-rich plasma. We then inject it into the areas that need healing so your body can start the process of building back healthy tissue. You leave the office the same day. No hospitalization, wounds, or antibiotics.
Many common injuries that athletes experience respond well to PRP. Tendon injuries, such as tennis elbow, and muscle strains or ligament injuries heal faster and effectively. Pulled hamstrings, thigh muscle injuries, rotator cuff pain, knee damage, and plantar fasciitis are other issues that we can treat with PRP.
Numerous professional athletes receive PRP for a wide variety of mild to major injuries. For example, doctors administered PRP injections to Cleveland Indians right-hander Danny Salazar for a mild strain to the flexor musculature of his forearm. Atlanta Falcons defensive lineman Adrian Clayborn received PRP after knee surgery so he could heal faster and get back to play. PRP injections helped New York Mets pitcher Steven Matz avoid surgery to his shoulder.
If you have an injury to soft tissue or a joint, ask Dr. J. Michael Bennett about PRP as an alternative to conventional, invasive therapies. If it’s good enough for the pros, it’s definitely good enough for you.
