Supercharge Your Body's Natural Injury Healing Response With Platelet Rich Plasma Therapy

By David C. Wang, DO

Kaplan Center for Integrated Medicine

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Supercharge Your Body's Natural Injury Healing Response With Platelet Rich Plasma Therapy

Platelet Rich Plasma Therapy (PRP) is an exciting new treatment that regenerates and accelerates tissue repair following an injury or surgery. The PRP process replicates and enhances the body's natural healing response, where inflammation causes temporary swelling around an injured area, in order to protect it and facilitate healing.

What is PRP?

PRP treatment involves drawing a small amount of the patient's blood (one to two ounces) and centrifuging it to separate and concentrate the blood cell platelets–the body's own uniquely designed healing dynamos. Next, the patient's own enriched blood platelets are injected back into his or her body at the site of the injury to stimulate and supercharge their body's own natural healing mechanisms.

Specifically, this high concentration of platelets in the plasma solution creates a localized inflammatory healing action. It simultaneously stimulates the growth of new ligament and tendon fibers, cartilage, and bone.

PRP's Health Benefits

This novel technique, which has been around since the mid-1980s, can help shorten post-surgery healing time, enhance rehabilitation time, and, in some instances, PRP can help patients avoid surgery altogether. Professional athletes have popularized these treatments and brought wider awareness to the process. But, aside from this adoption by professional athletes, wider scientific and conventional medical acceptance is also on the rise. This is because, compared to surgery, the PRP injection carries a substantially lower chance of complications, including infection, and leaves no visible scar.

The time required for preparing and injecting the plasma solution is about 45-60 minutes. The recovery period post-PRP (generally only a couple of days) is considerably shorter than post-surgery; and, PRP is about 10-20 times less expensive than surgery (although currently it may be only partially covered by health insurance).

Patients Report Quick Results

PRP is a minimally invasive healing technique, which enables patients to return to their daily routines quickly. PRP is gaining popularity–especially among patients who wish to try alternatives to surgery. For maximum effectiveness, PRP therapy generally involves 1-3 injections, which take place 4-8 weeks apart. And, advanced PRP practitioners also may utilize diagnostic ultrasound, an advanced imaging technology, before or during the procedure, which can greatly enhance the accuracy of the treatment in many cases.

If you or a loved one is interested in trying this new technique, please consider choosing an experienced medical practitioner.