Whether you’re dealing with a degenerative condition like osteoarthritis or an acute injury, you’re tired of the pain, inflammation, and stiffness. You want to put the whole experience in your rearview mirror and move on with your life.
Of course, the best way to do that is to heal quickly and soundly, and we have a tool that promotes both.
Called platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy, Dr. Rajiv Sood and the team here at Spine & Orthopedic Center inject this powerful biologic into damaged areas of your body to promote faster, more sustainable healing.
Here’s a closer look at how PRP injections can help you move freely again.
When we talk about biologics, we’re referring to medicines and treatments from natural sources — humans, animals, plants, microorganisms. In other words, they are not chemically synthesized. For example, many of the vaccines we use are biological in nature because they are made from vaccines, bacteria, and proteins, among other ingredients.
Biologics also include blood-sourced agents, which is where PRP comes in. Your blood contains four ingredients:
With PRP therapy, we isolate the platelets from a sample of your own blood, mix them in with your own plasma, and then inject them into damaged tissues. Because we’re only using your own resources, PRP is an autologous biologic, which means it’s safe to use and readily accepted by your body.
Now, let’s take a look at why we want to introduce more platelets to damaged tissues. These cells are responsible for initiating the healing cascade in your body. When you incur an injury, platelets aid in healing by:
When we inject the PRP, the platelets release growth factors and proteins, creating an all-hands-on-deck call to your body to heal.
We’ve successfully used PRP as a powerful biological tool to promote healing in many different situations. For example, PRP therapy can be good news for more than 32.5 million Americans with osteoarthritis as it helps rebuild cartilage.
We also use PRP to help with:
Because the biologic is autologous, we feel that PRP is one of those resources that can be used with almost any type of musculoskeletal damage.
If you’d like to determine whether PRP can play a role in improving your musculoskeletal health, we invite you to contact our office in Jonesboro, Georgia, to schedule a consultation.