What Is PRP Therapy And How It Works

Every day, new frontiers are being pushed in medicine and there is an incline in regenerative medicine. Simply put, doctors have realized that they can harness the healing abilities of certain parts of the body in the treatment of some illnesses. Have you heard of bone marrow therapy? Adipose tissue therapy? or perhaps our special guest for this article, Platelet-rich Plasma therapy?

What Is PRP Therapy?

Plasma is the liquid quantity of the entire blood. It is made up mostly of water and proteins, and it renders a way for red blood cells, platelets, and white blood cells to spread through the body. Platelets, also called thrombocytes, are blood cells that induce blood clots, aid cell growth, and further essential healing processes.

Platelet activation plays a crucial role in the body’s biological healing procedure. Platelet Rich Plasma stem cell treatment is a regenerative therapy used to promote healing by taking advantage of the body’s repair mechanisms. Getting the platelet rich plasma treatment in Atlanta is common in several states, and orthopedic specialists provide spinal PRP treatment for degenerative diseases such as osteoarthritis, as well as spinal PRP therapy for recurring injuries such as tennis elbow.

How Does It Work?

Researchers have generated PRP by separating plasma from blood and concentrating it and because the tissue growth components are more potent in the injections, researchers believe the body’s tissues may repair quicker. PRP injections utilize each patient’s recovery system to enhance musculoskeletal problems.

The notion is that injecting PRP into damaged or diseased body tissue will facilitate your body to develop fresh, healthy cells and boost the number of reparative cells your body generates, thereby fostering healing.  

Before The Process.

Primarily, preparation for PRP injections would be heeding the surgeon’s advice pre-surgery.  It is particularly vital to observe the doctor’s directives concerning prescriptions that promote bleeding, such as blood thinners. 

For hair loss treatment, the patient would have to wash their hair on the therapy day and avoid using any hair product. The patient would also need a clean hat to cover/protect the treatment area after the therapy.

PRP therapy includes taking blood, so the patient needs to eat before the treatment to prevent faintness. 

The Process

PRP injections are developed by drawing one to a few tubes of the patient’s blood and putting it through a centrifuge to separate the PRP from the rest of the blood and concentrate the platelets.

The doctor then numbs the area of your body being treated with lidocaine and the concentrated platelets are injected into several places under the skin around the affected area. For instance, if the treatment is for muscle damage, the doctor would inject PRP into various places in that muscle. Sometimes, Ultrasound imaging is adapted to direct the injection to the right area. 

Following this, the platelets deconcentrate and discharge their growth components, which are compounds that activate the natural cycles of cell multiplication and tissue regeneration, simply put, your body’s healing process.

Generally, the process itself lasts for roughly 30 minutes, and the majority of patients can return to their regular activities instantly thereafter.

After The Process

The patient should not wash the treatment area which may be sore for two to three days,  for 48 hours.  Thereon, the patient can apply hair and skincare products and resume medications. Coloring treatments and dye can also be used a week after PRP therapy.

If the patient feels harsh or severe discomfort, there is a need to inform the doctor.

What Can Platelet-Rich Plasma Treat?

There are a host of medical conditions on which researchers have tested the PRP therapy and they include:

• Hair Loss: According to research from 2014, dermatologists and hair replacement experts employ PRP injections to treat a kind of baldness named androgenic alopecia, also referred to as male or female pattern baldness. It also serves as a prominent supplement to hair transplants and can help stimulate the growth of transplanted hair roots while thickening existing hair. Complicated baldness difficulties may need receiving once-a-month PRP therapy for four to six months.

• Cosmetic Procedures: PRP is coming to be more common for cosmetic processes, too. Some dermatologists give PRP therapy for the face which is popularly referred to as a “vampire facial.”

• Tendon Injuries: Tendons are hard bands of tissue that attach muscle to bone. They are particularly difficult to repair after damage. Doctors have utilized PRP to care for persistent tendon issues, like Achilles tendonitis, tennis elbow, and jumper’s knee, or discomfort in the patellar tendon.

• Osteoarthritis: Doctors have used PRP to treat the knees of patients with osteoarthritis. A 2015 research established that PRP treatment was more beneficial than the conventional method for treating osteoarthritis. The trial was however inconclusive because of the size of the test base.

Doctors have also employed PRP injections to deal with sports wounds, like pulled hamstring muscles, and post-surgery repairs like a torn ligament or tendon.

It’s crucial to point out at this junction that PRP is an evolving field and that none of these benefits have been certainly verified to deliver success. However, the process has been tested by various individuals including star athlete Tiger Woods and it appears to be potent.