“The Great One,” and all-time leading NHL scorer in history, Wayne Gretzky once said, “You miss 100 percent of the shots you don’t take.” When PRP was still in its infancy in the early 2000’s, there was much debate in the sports injury/sports medicine community as to its effectiveness and long-term benefits.
For professional athletes such as Hines Ward, Takashi Saito, Rafael Nadal, and many others, “taking a shot” at PRP treatments ended up far exceeding expectations of healing time and potency – andultimately helped put them back in the game.
PRP (Platelet Rich Plasma) therapy is a process that utilizes the body’s own growth factors to promote tissue regeneration and advance the healing process. These growth factors are easily extracted and re-injected into the damaged area. The process takes very little time, is minimally invasive, and requires practically no downtime.
Can you see why such a method of treating sports injuries is so appealing to athletes? And that’s just the half of it. The other value added for athletes, especially those whose livelihood depends on their physical performance, is that PRP has:
Hines Ward – after enduring a high-ankle sprain, just weeks leading into the Super Bowl, Hines Ward, wide receiver for the Pittsburgh Steelers was back on the field within 3 weeks after receiving PRP therapy.
Rafael Nadal – it’s not surprising that after years on the courts, Nadal’s knees began to suffer as a result. PRP therapy helped Nadal to heal and enabled him to play in the U.S. Open.
Takashi Saito – during his time with the L.A. Dodgers, Saito endured a particularly gruesome ligament tear in the elbow. Predictions of his return to the game were grim … until PRP therapy. Not only was Saito able to divert surgery, he was able to go back to pitching.
For any athlete, whether professional or sports enthusiast who simply loves the game, avoiding surgery and taking a shot at a therapy that requires little downtime, while yielding maximum results – PRP treatments are pretty much a no brainer.
Football, baseball, and tennis injuries aren’t the only sports injuries to benefit from the healing properties of PRP. Virtually any individual dealing with a sports injury resulting from various sports-related activities and common physical injuries and conditions can give PRP therapy a go, including:
As experts, like Dr. Stuart Kauffman, continue to refine PRP therapy usages in treating sports injuries, treatment offerings will likely become more comprehensive.
If you would like more information on PRP therapy and how it can be used to help you with a sports injury or other pain conditions, we would love to schedule a consultation with you today!
