Curing Pain with Platelet Rich Plasma

In the 21st century it’s all about growth factors, stem cells, and methods to repair and regenerate injured body parts. For these biologic therapies we use Platelet Rich Plasma – PRP which contain the body’s growth factors and stem cells. Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) Therapy is a minimally invasive non-surgical treatment that relieves pain by promoting long lasting healing of musculoskeletal conditions.

The body’s natural reaction to an injury is to send platelets from the blood to damaged tissues to initiate healing. PRP treatment uses your own concentrated platelets and growth factors to stimulate and enhance the body’s own healing response to treat acute injury, inflammation or chronic degenerative disease.

How PRP Therapy Injections Are Done

The entire treatment, from blood draw, to solution preparation, to injection, takes 40-50 minutes. Before injections are given the skin and underlying tissue is first anesthetized to minimize the discomfort.

Step One: Blood Draw

First step in a PRP Therapy injection is to draw the patient’s blood to prepare the platelets.

Step Two: Spin To Separate PRP

The blood sample is then loaded into a centrifuge and is spun for a certain amount of time to separate the components, namely Red Blood Cells, Poor Platelet Plasma and Platelet Rich Plasma.

Step Three: Load the PRP and Inject

Once we have successfully separated the PRP (buffy coat), it can directly be loaded into a syringe for application onto the patient

Uses Of PRP Therapy

There are many applications where PRP Therapy can be very effective ranging from Pain Management to Healing Soft-tissue Injuries.  Ligament sprains and tears (Menisci, ACL, PCL, MCL, LCL), Patellar tendonitis and tendinosis, to Epicondylitis (Tennis and Golfer’s elbow), Achilles tendonitis and tendinosis, Acromioclavicular joint dysfunction and pain, Plantar fasciitis, OA of knee joint.

Since PRP is prepared from your own blood, there is no risk of rejection or disease transmission and virtually no risk of infection. This technique is Cost effective , Convenient as you don’t have to stay back at the hospital or clinic for recovery, Natural and 100% safe.

PRP injections are done in clinic and usually take about 40-50 minutes. Blood is drawn from the arm, and placed into a centrifuge, which separates the platelets and other beneficial growth factors. The platelet-rich plasma is then injected into the injured site. Patient has to wait in the clinic for another 10 – 15 minutes following which he/she can go home.

Tennis Elbow: Symptoms, Causes and Treatment.

Tennis elbow is the condition in which the outer part of the elbow becomes sore and tender. The origin of forearm muscles and tendons become damaged with the repetitive use of the wrist which causes an extreme pain. The pain initially starts on the outside of the elbow. 

Symptoms:

The symptoms of Tennis Elbow include pain in the outer elbow. Pain increases while gripping or holding anything.

Symptoms may also include:

  • Difficulty in shaking hands.
  • Difficulty in turning the doorknob.
  • Difficulty in holding small objects like a cup.

Causes:

Tennis elbow is caused by the overuse of wrist and arms. The repeated motion and stress results in tennis elbow. As the name suggests it is commonly seen in racquet sports players but they are not the only one who goes through this condition. It commonly occurs in IT professionals who have constant and repetitive use of computer mouse and keyboard & housewives, who repetitively twist clothes to dry and use circular wrist movements for cooking. 

Treatment:

  • Essentially the mainstay of treatment is rest and to avoid chronic repetitive stressful wrist movements.
  • Analgesics and anti-inflammatory medications will help muscles and tendons to recover from the damage.
  • Tennis Elbow Brace is a circular band, which helps in off-loading the point of origin of muscles. Must be used while playing racquet sports, use of computers or while cooking/working.
  • Physiotherapy using ultrasound massage and exercises gives excellent relief from pain and helps in building strength.
  • Local infiltrations of steroid are reserved for resistant or recurrent cases. Local infiltration of PRP (Platelet Rich Plasma) is gaining popularity over steroid injections as PRP is natural and uses patient’s own blood.
  • Surgical releases are seldom necessary and reserved for resistant cases wherein all the above methods of treatment have failed.

How to Avoid Tennis Elbow:

1. Correct posture.

2. ‎Correct grip or padding. 

3. Correct strength.

4. ‎Exercise your wrist and fingers.

5. ‎Take frequent breaks.