Getting injured is common. In fact, more than 3.5 million children and teens in organized sports get injured every year. In 2017, the top four activities that lead to injuries in adults and children were personal exercise (526,000), basketball (500,000), bicycling (457,000), and football (341,000).
However, even if you’re not involved in sports, you can injure a joint through overuse, falling, or even twisting it wrong. And while there are many ways to treat joint injuries, a natural and effective way to help your body heal is with platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy. Stuart A. Kauffman, DO, at PRP in Philadelphia has years of experience helping patients heal from injuries. And one of the best tools he has is PRP therapy.
The platelets in your blood help with clotting, and they also carry nutrients, hormones, and proteins throughout your body. By harvesting these from your blood and injecting them into damaged joints and muscles, they can promote cell growth and healing. By helping heal your injured tissues, PRP therapy can relieve pain and help you reduce any dependence on pain relievers or medications.
With PRP therapy, a sample of your blood is drawn. Then it’s placed in a centrifuge to separate the platelets from the rest of your blood’s components. Then the serum is injected into your injured tissue. Sometimes ultrasound is used to guide the process.
The treatment usually takes about an hour, and you can go right back to your normal activities after treatment. You may experience redness, soreness, and bruising for a few days after your procedure.
Platelet-rich plasma therapy can treat a variety of injuries, such as:
Platelet-rich plasma therapy can help treat tendon injuries, including tennis or golfer’s elbow, Achilles tendonitis, and jumper’s knee.
Platelet-rich plasma therapy can also treat osteoarthritis, which often causes pain, inflammation, and stiffness in the joints.
Platelet-rich plasma therapy can also treat soft tissue damage, such as pulled hamstrings and knee sprains.
Platelet-rich plasma therapy can also help speed up healing following surgeries to repair anterior cruciate ligaments or rotator cuffs.
In addition to helping with sprains, joints, and muscle injuries, PRP therapy can help heal spinal and lower back issues and fractures.
If you have a joint injury and want to see if PRP therapy can help you, book an appointment online or over the phone with PRP in Philadelphia today.
