Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy is the route that many world-class athletes take for fast recovery of soft tissue and joint damage, and it’s a regenerative medicine technique that’s showing great promise for natural tissue repair.
Regenerative medicine is a field of study that focuses on your body’s own repairing ability, with therapies and interventions designed to improve the power and efficiency of natural healing. PRP uses a small sample of your own blood that’s concentrated and re-injected at the site of damage, providing a resource jump-start for natural repair and pain relief.
Dr. Franz Jones and his team are PRP specialists, recommending the treatment to patients with chronic pain, whether they’re world-class athletes or casually active. Back pain can be difficult to treat for a wide range of reasons, but for many, PRP generates pain relief that boosts the effectiveness of their current management plan.
Plenty of people have heard about PRP in the context of sports injuries and even through Hollywood cosmetic procedures like the “vampire” facial, though without a clear understanding of the process.
PRP isolates and concentrates platelets, the blood component best known for clotting when you suffer a bleeding injury. As well as clotting ability, platelets carry human growth factors, messengers that direct the healing process with the effects of reducing inflammation and speeding natural repairs.
A PRP injection starts with a sample of your own blood, which we then skilfully process to separate platelets from red blood cells. We extract the platelets and mix them with a small amount of plasma from your sample, and then we inject your own PRP serum at the site of your injury. This is all done on the same day during the same visit.
While your body has remarkable healing powers within itself, one limitation is that the raw materials for injury repairs are often delivered through the bloodstream. Some tissue, like muscles and skin, are well-supplied through the body’s network of arteries and capillaries.
Other tissues, like tendons, cartilage, ligaments, and spinal discs have minimal blood supply. In some cases, they draw their nutrients from other fluids that surround them. Access to the healing power of platelets is naturally limited.
One major cause of back pain can be from herniated discs in the lumbar spine. While, in many cases, healing does happen over time, the pain and mobility limitations can be a major barrier to daily living. Adding PRP to your pain management plan does more than simply dull the noise of your pain.
Injecting PRP at the site of disc herniation washes the area with platelets far greater than the body can deliver naturally. This added boost is thought to reduce internal inflammation while stimulating the conversion of stem cells into tissues needed for healing. Clinical studies have shown results nearly 90% successful in reducing pain, without complications from treatment.
PRP can safely be added to virtually any pain management plan with an excellent chance of reducing your need for drug-based pain relievers. Is PRP right for you?
Contact Franz Jones, DO, to learn more about this exciting therapy. You can reach the office that’s most convenient to you by phone or by booking online. When back pain has ruled your life, it’s time to put PRP to work for you.
