PRP FAQs

Platelets are best known for their blood clotting ability, but they are a natural reservoir of hundreds of biologically active proteins called growth factors that play a key role in wound healing and tissue repair. When there is an injury or inflammation, platelets flood the area to stop bleeding and heal damaged tissues.

Platelet – rich Plasma therapy is a medical treatment that uses a concentration of a patient’s own platelets to accelerate healing and decrease inflammation in injured or diseased tissues. Platelets are a component of blood that plays a crucial role in healing processes. Platelet-rich plasma therapy involves extracting a small amount of the patient’s blood, processing it to increase the concentration of platelets, and then injecting the Platelet-rich plasma into the area that requires healing and/or symptomatic relief.

A small amount of the patient’s blood is drawn from the arm and spun in a centrifuge to separate the platelets from other blood cells in order to increase platelet concentrations. The resulting Platelet-rich plasma contains 2 to 10 times the concentration of platelets found in normal blood. For example, autologous conditioned plasma (ACP) has a platelet concentration ~2.5-3.0x whole blood.  On the other hand ACP Max contains a 6-8x concentration of platelets.  Another popular treatment called N-Stride contains > 5x platelets relative to whole blood but also has high concentrations of a powerful anti-inflammatory factor called interleukin-1 receptor antagonist protein (IL-1 RAP). Upon processing a patients’ blood sample, the concentrated platelets and growth factors are injected at the site of patient’s injury or damage such as into an arthritic joint, or into the zone of muscle damage following a sporting injury.

Platelet-rich plasma has found a wide range of applications in orthopedics, making it a valuable treatment option for various musculoskeletal conditions. Here are some of the key orthopedic applications of Platelet-rich plasma:

• Osteoarthritis: Platelet-rich plasma is increasingly used to manage osteoarthritis, a degenerative joint disease that causes pain and limited mobility. Injections of Platelet-rich plasma into arthritic joints can reduce pain, improve function, decrease inflammation and swelling, and potentially slow down the progression of the disease.
• Tendon Injuries: Tendon injuries, such as tennis elbow, Achilles tendonitis, and rotator cuff tears, can be treated with Platelet-rich plasma Platelet-rich plasma helps stimulate tendon healing, reduce pain, and improve tendon strength.
• Muscle Injuries: Platelet-rich plasma has shown promise in treating muscle injuries, such as strains and tears. It can accelerate muscle repair and reduce the time required for athletes to return to sports. An example of this is for hamstring and calf injuries in sprinting athletes.

Platelet-rich plasma works by utilizing the growth factors and proteins in the platelets to decrease inflammation and in some instances stimulate tissue repair and regeneration. When injected into the damaged area, the concentrated platelets release growth factors over a period of hours to days that stimulate the body’s natural healing processes. This can help to reduce inflammation, promote tissue regeneration, and accelerate healing. Occasionaly multiple injections result in an additive dosing effect on target tissues.