PRP is a substance derived from your blood platelets. Your blood platelets, which are just one segment of your blood, release a huge amount of growth factors that cause injured and diseased tissue to begin the healing process.

Additionally, blood platelets draw stem cells to your injured tissue. Stem cells change into the kind of cells you need — usually tendon, ligament, or cartilage cells — and then repair the damage.

PRP is particularly effective in stimulating the healing of soft tissues like ligaments and tendons. These tissues usually heal very slowly because of limited natural blood supply. In fact, after a sports injury, tendon or ligament healing can begin but then stall.

PRP therapy gets around this natural limitation by dramatically increasing blood platelets at the injury site. PRP therapy can treat most soft-tissue sports injuries, with common examples including:

• Tennis elbow (lateral epicondylitis)
• Golfer’s elbow (medial epicondylitis)
• Rotator cuff partial tears
• Jumper’s knee (patellar tendinosis)
• Achilles tendinosis and tears
• Plantar fasciitis
• Hip or gluteal tendons of the greater trochanter
• Groin or abductor tendons
• Hamstrings tendons of the ischial tuberosity
• Peripheral knee meniscal tears
• Labral hip tears
• Labral shoulder tears

PRP can also treat degenerative conditions, like degenerative disc disease and osteoarthritis within small and medium (non-weight-bearing) joints. In some cases, like back pain after surgery, PRP injections into the facet joints or sacroiliac joints can significantly ease your pain and prevent the need for another surgery.

In the world of cosmetic surgery (aesthetics), PRP microneedling facials and hair restoration are very successful and popular treatments today.

Your PRP treatment schedule depends on what kind of injury you have and how your body responds. In most cases, sports injuries require 1-4 treatments. PRP treatments are 4-6 weeks apart, with increasingly positive results.

Learn more about PRP treatments by calling Pain Care Boise today or clicking the online booking tool now.