It is well known that the human body has the ability to heal itself. All that is required for healing to be successful is sufficient time and the presence of healing factors innate to the body. Too often after an injury we don’t have enough time to heal properly as the demands of life require us to “get back out there.” Other times, as in the case of arthritis, our bone, cartilage, meniscus and other tissues are being broken down by daily activities faster than our body can repair and build them back up.
Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) provides us a natural means of addressing each of these common situations. PRP is a form of regenerative medicine that harnesses the body’s inherent ability to heal by taking those healing factors, concentrating them, and distributing them to an area of pain and instability. This accelerates the healing process and provides significant pain relief. If you have knee pain, low back pain, shoulder pain, elbow pain and more!
What is plasma and what are platelets?
Plasma is the liquid portion of blood. It is mainly composed of water and various proteins, but also includes red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets which circulate throughout the body. Platelets, when activated by injury or aggravation, play a critical role in various growth and healing functions.
What is platelet-rich plasma (PRP) and what are PRP injections?
Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is the process of taking a few tubes of your blood and running it through a centrifuge to concentrate the platelets. These activated platelets, along with growth factors and cytokines (cell signaling proteins) in the plasma, are then used for injection into injured or degraded tissue. This process has been shown to decrease pain, accelerate healing and stimulate the proliferation of mesenchymal stem cells (new tissue cells).
PRP has been used in the healing of various tissue types include joints, cartilage, meniscus, labrum, muscles, tendons, and ligaments. One of the benefits of this type of injection is that there are very few side affects and risk factors since the product itself is taken from the individual receiving the injection. In fact, the use of PRP is now frequently included as a component of care in the orthopedic world either as a pain relieving alternative to surgery or as an added modality to improve post-operative healing.
At In Home Doc injections are completed using ultrasound guidance. Everyone’s anatomy is unique and this type of imaging allows the practitioner greater precision in how and where the injection is administered in order to optimize pain relief and healing.
PRP has been found to provide significant pain relief and enhance the healing process. Get started today and find the relief you have been searching for. See you soon!
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