PRP

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PRP - Platelet Rich Plasma therapy is a growing form of treatment for injuries, especially among athletes. One of the primary reasons it has become trendy is that it harnesses its healing powers. It also eliminates the concern that the body will act adversely to the injections since it is created from your blood. 

So, what exactly is PRP and why does it seem to be so popular? PRP or Platelet-Rich- Plasma is an injection of plasma that has first been run through a centrifuge. The centrifuge concentrates the platelets in the whole blood and by injecting the blood directly into the injured area of the body or diseased tissue.

What are platelets and what important function do they serve? 

Platelets are tiny, microscopic cells found in our blood along with white and red blood cells. Ordinarily, they are free-moving in their inactive state, however, when a signal is given that there is damage to a blood vessel in the body they become active and begin binding together over the damaged vessel to form a clot.

This clot is extremely important as it will prevent you from bleeding out from an external cut or an internal injury. Since clotting is a normal function within the body having the right level of platelets is very important, however, if there is an imbalance there can serious consequences. Too many platelets in your blood can lead to potential heart complications, such as heart disease. Too low of a level of platelets and you risk the potential to bleed out in the case of a simple cut.

5 benefits of receiving PRP Therapy 

Today, more and more sports medicine doctors are using PRP Therapy to treat a wide range of injuries that have occurred to their patients participating in sports activities. There are several reasons why this type of treatment is working. For this article, we discovered five very important benefits of having PRP treatment performed after an injury for athletes.

Helps with chronic lower back pain - Chronic pain is especially common and concerning for athletes and especially chronic lower back pain. Helps to reduce the severity of pain and reduces the need for prescribing dangerous pain medication. 

Less invasive than other forms of therapy - Unfortunately, many of today’s sports injuries involve soft tissue damage and the most severe will usually lead to surgery. However, thanks to a much less invasive therapy, many people can avoid having to go under the knife.

Promotes self-healing and reduces inflammation - PRP Therapy helps to promote self-healing of the body and reduces excessive pain by lowering the amount of inflammation. The body has a potent way to fix itself and by adding a therapy like PRP, it can happen much faster. 

Relieves symptoms of Osteoarthritis of the knee joint - Osteoarthritis is a common ailment that affects athletes and the knee is one of the most widely affected joints of the body. Injecting PRP directly into the knee joint can help to be even more beneficial.

Particularly effective on soft tissue sports injuries - Many of the most common sports injuries involve soft tissue damage to muscles, tendons, and ligaments. PRP therapy can speed up the healing process by injecting the enriched blood directly into the damaged tissue promoting faster healing and quicker recovery time.