Platelet rich plasma (PRP) has proven to be a highly effective treatment for sports injuries like hip and shoulder labral tears. It can also help with osteoarthritis. At Pain Care Boise, leading pain management specialists William Binegar, MD, and Christopher Vaughan, MD, use this powerful therapy to start tissue regeneration and speed up recovery. Call the Downtown Boise, Idaho, office today or click the provided online link to arrange your consultation appointment now.
PRP is a substance derived from your blood platelets. Your blood platelets, which are just one segment of your blood, release a huge amount of growth factors that cause injured and diseased tissue to begin the healing process.
Additionally, blood platelets draw stem cells to your injured tissue. Stem cells change into the kind of cells you need — usually tendon, ligament, or cartilage cells — and then repair the damage.
PRP is particularly effective in stimulating the healing of soft tissues like ligaments and tendons. These tissues usually heal very slowly because of limited natural blood supply. In fact, after a sports injury, tendon or ligament healing can begin but then stall.
PRP therapy gets around this natural limitation by dramatically increasing blood platelets at the injury site. PRP therapy can treat most soft-tissue sports injuries, with common examples including:
PRP can also treat degenerative conditions, like degenerative disc disease and osteoarthritis within small and medium (non-weight-bearing) joints. In some cases, like back pain after surgery, PRP injections into the facet joints or sacroiliac joints can significantly ease your pain and prevent the need for another surgery.
In the world of cosmetic surgery (aesthetics), PRP microneedling facials and hair restoration are very successful and popular treatments today.
The Pain Care Boise team withdraws 1-2 ounces of blood from a vein in your arm. They use a specialized processing method to extract the platelets from your blood and produce the PRP. Your provider collects the PRP into a syringe and then injects it into the injured area.
The skilled providers use ultrasound imaging to find the specific area where you need the PRP, ensuring that your platelets go to work quickly and effectively.
Your PRP treatment schedule depends on what kind of injury you have and how your body responds. In most cases, sports injuries require 1-4 treatments. PRP treatments are 4-6 weeks apart, with increasingly positive results.
Learn more about PRP treatments by calling Pain Care Boise today or clicking the online booking tool now.
