PRP Injections
WHAT IS PLATELET-RICH PLASMA?
Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) is concentrated platelets and white blood cells derived from your own blood. Platelet Rich Plasma Injection Therapy (PRP therapy) is a growing treatment approach for soft tissue injuries including tendon, muscle and ligaments. It is also showing good results for mild to moderate osteoarthritis. While this approach has been used overseas for many years, it’s new to Australia in the treatment of musculoskeletal and orthopaedic conditions.
HOW DOES IT WORK?
Some tissues in the body have a poor blood supply or respond poorly to excessive load, ultimately failing to heal naturally. While some of our primary treatments such as physiotherapy, massage, biomechanical correction and other forms of treatment are used to treat these soft tissue injuries, sometimes the body fails to respond. PRP therapy utilises the healing properties in blood to allow a healing reaction to occur in a tissue that’s not healing on its own. Our blood has small granules called ‘platelets’, which contain special growth factors that when released, allow stem cells in the tissue to ‘switch’ on and cause new tissue to be created and heal the injured area.
WHAT CAN I EXPECT?
Because the goal of PRP therapy is to resolve pain through healing, it could prove to have lasting results. Initial improvement may be seen within a few weeks, gradually increasing as the healing progresses. Research studies and clinical practice have shown PRP therapy to be very effective at relieving pain and returning patients to their normal lives. The need for surgery can also be greatly reduced by treating injured tissues before the damage progresses and the condition is irreversible.