6 May 2024
Injury to the joints, muscles, tendons, and ligaments usually requires surgery to heal. But what if we tell you there’s a non-surgical, minimally invasive way to cure the same problem? That’s right. This is Platelet-Rich Plasma therapy, which boosts your body’s healing powers. It involves collecting your body’s platelets and creating a vial with healing powers from them. Then, the medical expert injects this into the injured area. Moreover, Platelet Rich Plasma Injections contain growth factors that help repair areas with low blood flow and reduce inflammation. The best part about PRP therapy is that it is free from any steroids or side effects! So, let’s start our journey and understand the basics of PRP therapy.
PRP, or platelet-rich Plasma therapy, is one of the leading non-surgical methods for boosting healing. It involves injecting the patients with their own concentrated platelets. Medical experts collect these platelets from various sites on the body. Then, the vial of blood undergoes a centrifuge to separate the components. Now, what remains is healthy plasma and growth factors that we need for the procedure.
They then collect and inject the plasma at the site of injury or damage. Once the process is complete, the plasma will make the cells secrete growth factors faster. Thus increasing the rate of healing of the cells approximately twice as fast as other treatments. This makes PRP treatment in Marlboro one of the safest and most effective non-surgical treatments to help with persistent pain problems. But remember to get a professional’s recommendation before you go for PRP therapy.
Now that we know what PRP therapy is, it’s time to understand how it works. There are mainly a couple of steps to this therapy.
The first step involves using an aseptic technique. The medical expert draws 10 cc of blood from the patient’s vein. This vein can be around the back of the hand or elbow pit.
The second step involves centrifuging the blood at a suitable speed. This allows the machine to separate the plasma and the growth factors. Through centrifuging, we get the right concentration and amount of plasma for treatment. Then the doctor then injects the PRP into the injured or inflamed area to reduce pain. It also stimulates the body’s repair process.
The PRP treatment mainly requires two to three injections of PRP. You will receive these injections three to four weeks apart or as per the doctor’s instructions. Usually, you’ll start to see the change somewhere around the third week of the procedure.
Before the procedure begins, make sure to get enough sleep. As sleep plays a major role in healing your body. Next, keep a watch on your diet and make sure you’re eating all five food groups. So, align your meals so that you get all the nutrients you need. Next, we suggest that you avoid consuming alcohol. This ensures that your procedure doesn’t face any complications. Moreover, make sure to provide a list of medical history to the doctor before the PRP treatment. This includes all drug allergies, routine medicines, and congenital conditions. Lastly, if you’re using NSAIDs, then avoid those for at least seven days before the treatment date. But make sure to ask your doctor before stopping any medicine on your own.
Remember that you might feel pain and tightness after the treatment around the affected area. So don’t worry for the first 48 hours, as this is normal. If the pain is too intense, you can use cold compression to ease it. But if the pain gets unbearable, then you can safely take paracetamol. It will help reduce the pain while your body works on healing itself. Make sure not to use any antibiotics, steroids, or NSAIDs during or after the process. As it may interrupt the healing process and delay the results. Lastly, stay vigilant for any redness, heat, or swelling around the affected area. If you see any of these signs, make sure to consult a doctor immediately.
Also Read: How Does Soft Tissue Manipulation Therapy Work?
As we know by now, PRP helps heal injuries or degeneration of the joints, tendons, muscles, and ligaments. Studies show that PRP is quite effective in healing and reducing pain. That, too, has minimal side effects and harm as it uses the patient’s own blood. Moreover, the process of PRP is completely natural. Thus, not leaving any synthetic material in the body that may later cause complications. The only trend that you’ll see is of a reduction in pain and improvement in the condition. Thus, due to the non-surgical nature of the procedure. Most people, especially athletes, turn to PRP to heal their injuries.
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While PRP is generally safe for everyone, a few conditions don’t go with PRP. Thus, we do not recommend PRP for people with the following conditions:
If you still wish to receive a PRP treatment, then do so at the discretion of your doctor.
The results of the treatment depend on the condition of the injury and may vary from case to case. After all, every person is different and every body reacts differently to medicine. Moreover, the injured tissue and the overall health of the person matter in this case. Generally, muscle injuries heal faster than joint, tendon, or ligament injuries. This is due to the amount of blood flowing to the area of the injury. So don’t be disheartened if your injury is taking longer to heal. Just believe in the process!