As an athlete, a qualified sports medicine practitioner is one of your best assets. Not just because you might suffer an injury during play, but because a sports medicine doctor can promote optimal body mechanics for your best possible performance.
Sports injuries often take weeks or even months to heal. Whether it’s from overuse or trauma, you might be on the bench for some time.
Breakthroughs in regenerative medicine are helping patients with these types of sports injuries to heal faster. Regenerative medicine uses your body’s own healing mechanisms to bring a quicker recovery.
Platelet-rich plasma, commonly called PRP, while not yet a standard treatment, is a regenerative medicine approach offered by many forward-thinking orthopedic practices.
Our board-certified orthopedic surgeons and regenerative medicine physicians at The Center for Orthopedics and Sports Medicine, P.A. are in the forefront in helping patients heal faster with PRP.
The liquid portion of your blood, called plasma, also contains solids, including red and white blood cells and platelets. The platelets help your blood to clot when an injury causes bleeding. But that’s not their only function; they also have properties that help the injury to heal.
Platelets are tiny, round cells that contain healing proteins called growth factors. The growth factors send signals to your immune system to kick it into gear. They help to reduce inflammation and begin cell repair.
The proteins released by the platelets bring your body’s stem cells to the injured area. They help to create healthy new tissue.
Platelet-rich plasma is a form of your own blood remixed to include a very high concentration of your platelets — up to 10 times more than normally found in your blood.
Our staff draws your blood and places it in a machine called a centrifuge. The centrifuge, which spins the blood at high speeds, isolates a large mass of protein-rich platelets together in the blood sample. That mixture of your own blood, now platelet-rich plasma, is injected back into you.
Depending on the injury, your physician may use ultrasound imaging to guide the placement of the injection. The platelet-fortified concentration rushes to the site of your injury and kick-starts the healing process.
Although more research is needed, studies show that PRP helps to heal chronic tendon injuries by reducing inflammation and producing new cell growth. We treat the following sports injuries with PRP based on current science:
PRP has several key advantages as a therapy for sports injuries.
Immediately after your injury, you’re probably on over-the-counter or prescription pain medication to ease discomfort and reduce inflammation. All drugs have side effects. For example, taken long-term, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) can cause organ damage.
You don’t want to become dependent on medication. Because PRP spurs a faster recovery, you shouldn’t have to take medication as long.
PRP uses only your own blood. No synthetic substances are introduced into your body.
Faster recovery is an obvious benefit. Your doctor can use PRP alongside traditional treatments, such as physical therapy.
There’s little to no risk in PRP. We do blood draws and injections every day.
Contact The Center for Orthopedics and Sports Medicine, P.A. today for expert treatment of painful sports injuries. Call our Toms River, New Jersey, office at 732-242-7287, or book an appointment online. You can also send a message to the team here on our website.
We’re your partner in orthopedic health.
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