PLATELET RICH PLASMA INJECTIONS
WHAT ARE PLATELET RICH PLASMA INJECTIONS?
Platelet Rich Plasma is produced from a person's own blood. It is a concentration of one type of cell, known as platelets, which circulate through the blood and are critical for blood clotting. A less commonly known fact is that platelets contain many growth factors and hormones that are essential for the cell recruitment, multiplication and specialization that are required for healing an injury.
After a blood sample is obtained from a patient, it is put into a centrifuge and the red blood cells are pushed to the bottom. We extract the liquid plasma containing your platelets, and spin this portion of your blood yet again which concentrates the platelets. We use this for PRP injection.
Platelet rich plasma is delivered to an injured area of bone or soft tissue, such as a tendon or ligament, using a sterile needle and syringe. After the injection, a patient must avoid exercise for a short period of time before beginning a rehabilitation exercise program. Source
IS PRP TREATMENT EFFECTIVE?
Thousands of research studies have proven the effectiveness of PRP. Both animal and human models have demonstrated that this treatment can improve healing of soft tissues and bone. For example, increased numbers of cells and improved tendon strength have been noted in Achilles tendon injuries, and improved muscle regeneration has been shown in gastrocnemius (calf) muscle injuries. Countless other studies have looked at the application for knee arthritis, sacroiliac ligament strain, and rotator cuff strain.
These favorable findings have led to the increased use of PRP treatment for a variety of conditions, including acute and chronic tendon problems, as well as injuries to ligaments and muscles.
The most promising early results have been seen when PRP treatment is used for chronic tendon conditions, such as lateral epicondylitis (tennis elbow) and Achilles tendinosis, which impacts the Achilles tendon. Nonetheless, a recent study in the Journal of the American Medical Association reported that there was no advantage to using PRP injection compared to saline (placebo) injection for the treatment of Achilles tendinosis. So, there is still some debate about the effectiveness of PRP. What Dr. Lauer believes this seemingly contradictory evidence reflects is the unknown factors in selecting which conditions to treat with PRP versus other techniques like prolotherapy, physical therapy, osteopathic or chiropractic manipulation, and surgery. These studies are also limited by the skill of the injecting doctor. If the needle doesn’t get into the right area, the effectiveness declines.
In a small study involving knee osteoarthritis, PRP treatment was shown to be more effective than hyaluronic acid treatment. PRP has also resulted in positive or similar results when used in the treatment of rotator cuff tears and medial collateral ligament (MCL) injuries in the knee.
Overall, there is limited support of PRP treatment in published clinical studies. However, because PRP is created from a patient's own blood, it is considered a relatively low-risk treatment with the potential to improve or speed healing. At Twin City Family Medicine, we’ve seen the healing effects of PRP time and time again. It works for many patients, but does not work for all. Again, we believe this reflects the many unknowns about the inner-workings of the human body. More studies are needed to prove the effectiveness of PRP treatment and to research the best ways to standardize the treatment's preparation. Source
DR. LAUER'S EXPERIENCE WITH PRP
Dr. Lauer has been performing PRP injections at Twin City Family Medicine since 2015. He has applied this treatment to hundreds of patients, many of whom did not respond to standard dextrose prolotherapy. The results of internal data tracking shows PRP adds a healing effect when dextrose prolotherapy fails.
We use a low-cost method of producing PRP which allows us to produce your custom-made PRP solution with very little overhead cost. Unlike many other full-time regenerative medicine clinics which charge prices of $500-$700 to simply prepare your PRP using expensive proprietary devices, we prepare it at no additional cost to you! We do this by using low-cost off-the-shelf devices like simple blood drawing tubes and a laboratory grade centrifuge following the methodology in this article. Source
WHO IS THE IDEAL CANDIDATE?
Dr. Lauer reserves the right to decide if you require PRP or not. Most commonly, your painful condition will respond to standard dextrose prolotherapy solution. Most patients start with this prolotherapy, and we add PRP later on if the treatment is not working. If you condition is severely debilitating and you are nearly disabled from your injury, Dr. Lauer might opt to add PRP on the first visit. Keep in mind that PRP creates a much more intense inflammatory reaction (but also a better healing response), so the post-procedural pain is typically more than with dextrose prolotherapy.
