Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections have been around for quite some time. Initially, they were utilized mainly by athletes looking to recover from soft tissue injuries more quickly. Athletes still utilize PRP injections but so do average patients dealing with everything from soft tissue injuries to osteoarthritis.
Here is the million-dollar question: what does the science say about PRP therapy? Is there reason to believe that all the positive anecdotal evidence is trustworthy? In a word, yes.
A Growing Body of Evidence
It was impossible to point to science in support of PRP therapy a decade ago. There just was not enough evidence back then. That is no longer the case. We now have a growing body of evidence clearly showing that PRP injections work better for pain relief than placebo, hyaluronic acid, and other treatments.
On its website, the Mayo Clinic discusses some of that evidence. One particular study compared PRP injections against placebo for knee osteoarthritis. The results were impressive. Patients did much better with the PRP therapy.
Another study cited by the Mayo Clinic compared PRP therapy against steroid injections. The results were interesting. The steroid injections proved better initially, but probably because they acted faster. But over the long term, the PRP injections provided more relief.
What PRP Is All About
PRP therapy is one of several regenerative medicine therapies offered at Lone Star Pain Medicine in Weatherford, TX. Lone Star doctors explain that the premise behind regenerative medicine is encouraging the body to heal on its own.
PRP injections follow that premise. Blood plasma is rich in both platelets and growth factors. By isolating these two substances and then injecting them at the site of an injury or soft tissue disease, doctors hope to stimulate the body’s natural healing responses. Think about it as being similar to jump starting a car when the battery is dead.
The car will run on its own if you can just get it started. The thinking with PRP injections is similar. In other words, a patient’s body will seek out and begin healing the injury or underlying condition on its own. It just needs a little help getting started. That is what PRP injections do.
PRP Therapy Is Completely Safe
PRP therapy, along with prolotherapy and stem cell injections, have gotten a bad wrap in recent years due to a few unfortunate cases of doctors performing the procedures outside of established guidelines. When performed as already approved by the FDA, the procedures are completely safe.
One of the more interesting aspects of PRP therapy involves the biological material being used. The platelets and growth factors a doctor injects at an injury site are actually provided by the patient herself. She donates her own blood via a standard blood draw that could be conducted in any doctor’s office.
The blood is then placed into a centrifuge and spun. This isolates the platelets and growth factors. The resulting material is then injected into the patient’s body at the site of injury or disease.
Little Risk of Rejection or Other Complications
The main benefit of using the patient’s own blood is that there is very little risk of rejection or other complications. The most worrisome side effect is the potential for infection. However, infection is a risk for every type of injection.
The science in support of PRP injections is growing. The more researchers look into it, the more they are learning that PRP therapy is effective for certain types of soft tissue injuries and diseases. However, that doesn’t mean it is a magical cure all for whatever ails you.
