Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy is a revolutionary method of rejuvenating cells, managing pain, and repairing tissue damage. Today, PRP therapy is offered in wellness and rejuvenation centers across the country.

Many people don’t know about the benefits of PRP or its accessibility. If they did, it’s likely millions of people would find more relief from pain without medication.

Because it can help strengthen cells and repair damage, PRP therapy has also been linked to anti-aging. With so many benefits, why not learn a little more about it?

Below, we’ll cover some of the most helpful benefits patients can receive from the revolutionary PRP therapy!

Major Patient Benefits of PRP Therapy

If you’re like the rest of us, you’ve probably heard of PRP therapy in connection with athletes and their injuries. There’s a science to its success that encourages even the most skeptical patient.

Athletes who often suffer sprains, minor and major injuries can especially benefit. Pain management is another crucial factor.

After all, they need to be back on the field and in good health in as little time as possible.

We’ll cover this and other common benefits patients can achieve through the breakthroughs in PRP therapy:

PRP and Prolotherapy

Prolotherapy is a type of regenerative medicine that many athletes use to treat injuries, pain, and discomfort. The science behind this therapy? Platelet-rich plasma, which contains growth factors the body uses to heal itself.

Normally, platelets are used to clot the blood when damage is done. They also carry a powerful protein containing growth agents that regenerate cells.

PRP therapy and prolotherapy alike use platelets in concentrations to flood an area with growth agents. They obtain high concentrations by distilling them from the patient’s blood.

The plasma that is reinjected comes right from the patient.

Prolotherapy (and PRP therapy) can be used to manage a number of complications on a cellular level. Reducing pain and helping rejuvenate cells are common solutions for platelet-rich plasma.

Rejuvenate Cells with Help from Growth Agents

When PRP is reinjected into the body, it acts like a sort of beacon for the body to help send in help. Platelets naturally help to close wounds and begin the healing process.

Medical professionals can distill these platelets, inject a group of them near an injury, and let them call in the help.

From there, your immune system works with the concentrated platelets to reduce inflammation and encourage cell growth.

The body has a few significant growth agents it uses in major ways. They help our bodies mature into adults and help us heal wounds throughout life.

PRP treatment takes an accumulation of these agents and concentrates them in one area for targeted results.

Help Reduce Chronic Pain

To help understand how PRP therapy can help reduce pain, let’s consider a patient who’s suffering from lower back pain. A number of factors (including posture and age) can cause cracks or tears in spinal discs.

Our spinal discs are full of nerve endings which are sensitive to these breaks and tears. PRP therapy can fill in the cracks and tears and encourage new growth.

PRP treatment and signals to the body infuse the area with growth agents to repair tissue. This can ultimately treat the source of the pain and reduce inflammation (often the cause of heightened pain) in the process.

This in conjunction with other low-impact procedures like spinal cord stimulators can alleviate chronic pain without major surgery. And this is just one example from one condition!

PRP treatments can be used across the body to push back and repair those aggravated parts that cause patients pain.

Reduce Symptoms of Tendinitis

The tendons that connect our muscles to our bones undergo a lot of stress through the years. Even repetitive, everyday actions can put stress on our tendons. From this, patients can develop tendinitis (or tendonitis).

This can turn simple actions into extremely painful situations. Pain may arise without being provoked, inhibiting patients from living their best lives.

Through PRP therapy, though, patients can fight back inflammation and treat their internal wounds with a simple injection.

A concentrated dose of PRP is injected into the problem area (such as a ligament or tendon). The platelets signal to the body, which in turn works harder to produce new collagen and heal the wound.

Treating Osteoarthritis

Just as PRP can be injected into targeted areas to relieve ligament and tendon pain, it can be used to treat injuries in the joints.

Injections of platelet-rich plasma send in growth factors and help the body produce the right ingredients to speed up healing. PRP therapy can improve the amounts of hyaluronic acid near the wound as well as new blood vessels.

This technique has proven to work well on knee damage and the arthritis pain that sets in following an injury. Some patients even reported improvements through PRP therapy in a manner of weeks!

How is PRP Delivered?

As we mentioned above, platelet-rich plasma is drawn directly from a patient’s blood, distilled, and reinjected. Medical professionals can separate plasma through a process called centrifugation.

During your visit with your doctor, they will discuss the procedure and draw blood. From there, they will separate out a good portion of enriched plasma in a syringe to be reinjected.

The doctor will put antiseptic on the injection site and likely numb the area before any injections. After, there may be a little swelling in the injection site, but nothing that should last longer than a few days.

From there, you can expect to see maximum results after a couple of weeks and determine if follow-up injections are needed.

Pain Management from Leading Industry Professionals

Looking for PRP therapy or pain management from industry professionals? Consider Garden State Medical Center!

Our dedicated team of professionals assesses every patient to tailor a pain-management plan that fits their needs. Check out our website to learn about our doctors and our blog to learn more about modern pain management options.