Platelet-rich Plasma Injections Can Improve Healing and Recovery Times
Platelet-rich Plasma (PRP) is a process used to help individuals recover from injuries. Understanding what PRP is and how it works may help to determine if it could be a treatment option for you. At Innovative Pain & Spine Specialists in Omaha, Nebraska, Dr. Thomas Brooks, a pain medicine physician, uses PRP to help patients find relief from conditions such as tendon injuries, ligament injuries, and osteoarthritis.
What Is Platelet-rich Plasma (PRP)?
Platelet-rich plasma is blood that has a higher concentration of platelets than normal. It also contains hundreds of proteins called growth factors which are important in the healing of injuries. The platelets are important for clotting blood. PRP uses a patient's own platelets to speed up healing, reduce inflammation, and decrease pain.
Innovative Pain & Spine Specialists in Omaha and Lincoln, NE provide expertise when it comes to PRP. To develop the PRP mixture, blood is drawn from the patient and placed in a centrifuge where it is spun at high speeds. The blood separates into three layers: red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets, and plasma that has a low concentration of platelets. The increased concentration of platelets is used to prepare the PRP solution for injection. Our medical team will go over this process with you. PRP is generally safe because it uses a person’s own blood.
How does the PRP Injection Work?
Studies show that increasing the concentration of growth factors in PRP helps to speed up the healing process. With an injury, a mixture of PRP and a local anesthetic is injected into the tissue at the injury site. Pain relief is gradual as the injured tissue heals and the PRP mixture begins to work. This can actually take several weeks, and even months, before the patient feels the full benefits, but the effect is lasting. If relief is not improved within three months, a second injection may be required. Our patients in Lincoln and Omaha, NE typically see full benefits within six to nine months.
Platelet-rich plasma is also used to improve healing following surgery for some injuries, like a torn tendon. This procedure is done during surgery and through a special preparation the PRP is stitched into torn tissues.
Conditions and Treatments by PRP
Drs. Thomas Brooks, Philip Essay, and Kelly Zach use Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections are used in the treatment of the following conditions:
Chronic Tendon Injuries: PRP is very effective when treating chronic tendon injuries, like tennis elbow and chronic Achilles tendonitis or inflammation of the patellar tendon at the knee.
Acute Ligament and Muscle Injuries: In the treatment of acute sports injuries, such as ligament and muscle injuries, PRP is used to treat common sports injuries like pulled hamstring muscles in the thigh and knee sprains incurred by professional athletes. Innovative Pain & Spine Specialists Medical Team have extensive experience treating acute ligament and muscle injuries.
Knee Osteoarthritis: Knee osteoarthritis will affect half of all Americans at some point during their lives. PRP can be effective when these factors occur:
Osteoarthritis pain affects daily activities
Physical therapy to strengthen joint muscles doesn’t help
Are sensitive to anti-inflammatory medications (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen, or NSAIDs do not provide adequate pain relief
Joint aspirations are not appropriate or do not provide adequate pain relief
Steroid injections have not worked, or the patient wants to avoid steroid injections
Surgery to Repair Torn Ligaments: Surgeons use PRP to repair torn rotator cuff tendons or torn knee ligaments (ACL). There isn’t enough data to determine whether PRP is effective with these conditions.
Fractures: Using PRP during surgery for setting bones has shown to speed up the repair in any type of injury. PRP has shown to increase healing much faster and increase bone density.
Is it Covered by Insurance?
Currently, PRP injections are not covered by insurance; however, check with your health insurance.
If you suffer with tendon, muscle, or joint pain and have not been able to find relief from other treatments, our pain medicine team at Innovative Pain & Spine Specialists can discuss other options, including PRP. Find out if PRP is the right procedure to help relieve your pain.
Dr. Thomas Brooks is at Innovative Pain & Spine Specialists, located at 17030 Lakeside Hills Plaza, Suite 202, in Omaha, NE. For more information or to schedule an appointment call 402-413-5010.