PRP For Sports Medicine & Injuries
Besides being utilised for its anti-ageing benefits, PRP historically has been used within sports medicine to treat high-profile athletes, including Tiger Woods, Alex Rodriguez, Kobe Bryant, and Jermaine Defoe suffering from sports injuries.
How Effective Is PRP for Sports Injuries
PRP injections in sports medicine are generally considered for soft tissue injuries that are known to have poor healing properties, including tendon and ligament injuries where the natural healing process may stall after a certain amount of time.
Studies are still ongoing into the benefits of PRP for injuries, but research has demonstrated very positive results, with the process encouraging the body to produce collagen and encouraging the body to begin its natural process of healing.
As with any medical procedure, PRP treatment must be carried out by a trained professional under strict sterile conditions.
Sport Injury Treatment
PRP, or Platelet Rich Plasma Therapy as it is also known, works by using vital nutrients found within the blood to kick-start the body’s natural healing process and stimulate collagen production.
PRP treatments are effective in treating sports injuries including:
- Tennis elbow
- Golfer’s elbow
- Early osteoarthritis
- Chronic muscle injuries
- Chronic ligament injuries (including on the knees, ankles, elbows, and wrists
- Chondral injuries
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How Does PRP Treatment Work?
The blood contains several key nutrients that combined, play a pivotal role in supporting the overall health of the skin, and body functionality. These nutrients include plasma, which is a yellowish substance known to carry salts, water, and enzymes around the body, platelets, which are present to support healthy coagulation, and vital proteins known as growth factors to support health.
During treatment, a doctor will separate each of these key nutrients from the blood, and inject them underneath the skin, causing the body to begin healing.
The overall PRP process begins in a very similar manner to a routine blood test. The doctor will first extract blood from your arm, then place it into a special centrifuge that is designed to spin the blood and separate it from the individual key nutrients.
These key nutrients, including the platelets, are then injected into the designated treatment area. For accuracy, ultrasound guidance may be used to ensure the PRP injections are reaching the intended area. More than one treatment of PRP may be required for best results, and these will be spaced within several weeks of each other to allow time for the impacted tissue to heal adequately. The exact number of treatments will vary depending on the injury, and circumstances.
Once symptoms begin to improve, PRP treatments will stop, however, you are advised to couple the procedure with a comprehensive rehabilitation programme to further support functional tissue healing and allow it to regain its strength and flexibility.
Is PRP Treatment Safe?
PRP is not generally considered to have any harmful effects, or complications because it utilises nothing but a patient’s own blood, with no other added constituent. Following treatment, you may experience slight redness, bruising, and tenderness around the injection site, but these will heal within a couple of days.
Whilst PRP is safe for all skin types, ages, and ethnicities, it should be discussed with a medical professional before undergoing treatment as there are some medical conditions that may impact your suitability for PRP therapy. Conditions include pregnancy, HIV/ Aids, cancers of the blood and skin, and any cardiovascular disease that require the use of blood thinners.
PRP is a fantastic treatment and one that we have been offering for many years now at our clinic. We both do believe that regenerative medicine is the future of aesthetics and PRP is just that – we wish more people knew about its many benefits. The product we use is Regen PRP produced by Regen Lab which we couldn’t recommend enough. Not only is this product safe and easy to use, but it has also benefited patient goals and outcomes. Five stars!