The human body is an amazing machine that’s capable of impressive self-repair feats. But sadly, surgical interventions are often pursued instead of allowing the body’s natural healing process to occur. In particular, with muscle injuries, chronic tendon injuries and injured tissue in general, many physicians and patients default to surgery. In many situations, conditions such as knee meniscus or ligament issues, tennis elbow, rotator cuff, arthritis and other sports injuries, etc. healing the body via treatment methods such as platelet-rich plasma injections is something one should certainly consider due to the efficacy and positive results PRP injections have shown in regards to promote healing, repair tissue damage and more.
Additionally, while there are always risks and benefits of any medical procedure, unlike having a metal rod implanted or an organ transplant in which the body is often prone to have complications, with PRP therapy, because an individual’s own blood and platelet-rich plasma PRP are used, there is no risk for allergic reaction with PRP injections.
How Does PRP Work?
To fully understand the question, ‘how do PRP injections work?’, it is important first to address platelet-rich plasma, PRP injections and PRP treatment in general. It is also essential to know what PRP is. PRP comes from your own blood. By utilizing a person’s platelets and the liquid portion of blood – the plasma – science has evolved to the point that a specific process allows for platelet-rich plasma PRP to be a substance derived from components – a liquid portion to be exact – within the human body. Moreover, platelet-rich plasma injections contain red blood cells and platelets, which play a vital role in the body’s healing process, amongst other things.
With platelet-rich plasma, physicians can provide PRP treatments to assist in everything from wound healing, hair loss, facial rejuvenation, to pain PRP concentrates platelets in the blood which play a key role in repair.
Growth Factors
Platelets and Platelet Rich Plasma PRP are vital in promoting cellular healing. That’s because platelets contain key growth factors, a variety of essential proteins that naturally boost other cells’ health and functioning. The import of platelets directly correlates with growth factors, making them an invaluable addition to healing tissues in joints, tendon injuries and ligaments in knees, shoulders, and elbows.
Platelet-Rich Plasma Therapy
Often referred to as PRP treatment or PRP injections, a PRP treatment provides relief minimally invasive, therapeutic technique that alleviates pain and can help heal your orthopedic injury. should utilize ultrasound guidance when a PRP injection is provided. First, local anesthetic is administered to numb the targeted injection site The , the PRP is injected directly into the injured area. This allows the body’s injury site to start healing when platelet-rich plasma releases growth factors, stimulating other cells – to aid in the healing process.
How Many Treatments are Needed
The number of PRP treatment sessions required depends on the individual, the diagnosis, the response to a treatment session, the desired outcome, and overall PRP efficacy. One should also consider that it is common for platelet-rich plasma and PRP treatments to take time, so results are not immediate. Average time to take effect is 4-8 weeks from the first PRP injection.
Every patient is different, and diagnosis is different so not everybody may be a good candidate for PRP therapy. A careful examination and discussion should take place prior to pursuing PRP injections as an option.
Phoenix PRP Injections
Platelet-rich plasma PRP injections are a powerful tool in treating non-surgical orthopedic and sports injuries. Therefore, if you are in the Phoenix metropolitan area and would like to discuss alternatives to orthopedic surgery, we urge you to consider PRP (Platelet Rich Plasma) Treatment.
Gaining popularity as a modern medical breakthrough, PRP injections have quickly become the go-to option for people experiencing orthopedic issues that prefer to avoid surgery. PRP injections are designed to help the body heal itself, and they can be used as a preventative measure in addition to post-injury treatment.
PRP injections are often recommended by orthopedic specialists when acute injuries occur, such as knee sprains or a torn tendon, as an alternative to surgical repair. They are safe and virtually free of any side effects.
In addition, the procedure requires limited recovery time compared to traditional orthopedic surgery, making it an attractive option for athletes and active individuals. By helping the body heal its own acute sports injuries, PRP injections provide a viable alternative to orthopedic surgery.
At Full Circle, we’ve seen impressive results treating hundreds of patients with PRP injections in Phoenix. If you are looking for a safe and effective alternative to orthopedic surgery in the Phoenix area, let’s talk about how PRP injections can help you.