Injuries caused by a strain of the joints and tendons often results in conditions such as tendonitis and osteoarthritis. Platelet-Rich-Plasma (PRP) injections are used to treat various degenerative diseases and orthopedic injuries. This treatment is excellent for pain management, but how long does it take for you to recover?
After the injection, you may be sore of experience some stiffness for a few days. You should expect pain relief within three to four weeks after the start of this treatment. The recovery time is highly dependent on the condition. Read more about PRP therapy and treatment here.
In this article on hss.edu, the writer explains what PRP injections are and how they beneficial they are in healing of muscle and overuse injuries.
The Effectiveness is the PRP Injection
Bone and soft tissue injuries heal in many stages. One of the most exciting areas of research in orthopedic surgery and sports medicine involves making the most of the initial healing stages: inflammation and an increase in cells, or cell proliferation.
Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) treatment is becoming a more popular option for giving a biological boost to the healing process. PRP treatment has received significant attention from the media and has been used by numerous professional athletes. Read more here
After several successful studies, PRP treatment was found to be effective in various conditions, including acute and chronic tendon injuries. PRP therapy has also been effective in the treatment of muscle and ligament injuries. Studies have also been carried out on the effectiveness of PRP injection on knee osteoarthritis. This treatment was found to be more effective than hyaluronic acid treatment.
In the following article on health.harvard.edu, the writer looks at the healing power of PRP treatment and the concerns some doctors have about this treatment.
Concerns about PRP Injections
Harnessing the healing power of these blood cells is intriguing, but research is lacking.
Times have changed since the days of bloodletting, when doctors treated their patients by taking blood out of them. Now a procedure called platelet-rich plasma therapy has emerged that involves injecting a portion of the blood back into an ailing joint. You might say it’s bloodletting in reverse. Read more here
If you have inflammation at the time when you receive the PRP injection, you need to stop taking anti-inflammatory medication because this therapy has proven to be effective on inflammations. This treatment is also said to have performance-enhancing substance. If you are a professional sportsperson, you need to find out if this will affect your record. However, it is critical to note that major professional leagues have not addressed PRP.
In the following article, John Wilson MD discusses the efficacy of PRP treatment and factors that affect the effectiveness of the treatment.
Variables that Make PRP Treatments less Effective
PRP has been used in surgeries to promote cell regeneration since 1987,and a growing body of evidence shows it is a viable treatment for tendinosis. Not until recently, though, have experts researched and debated whether or not platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections are an effective treatment for osteoarthritis.
Nearly all of the research investigating the use of PRP to treat osteoarthritis and other cartilage defects has been done since 2000, and the vast majority of research articles on the topic have been published since 2010. Read more here
PRP injection is useful only if all the variables are as they should be, such as the preparation method. Any changes in the variables will make the treatment less effective. The preparation method, the amount of PRP injected, and the frequency of the injections will affect how well the treatment works. In some people, PRP injections are sufficient on their own, while other people need to combine PRP with physical therapy.
