Dr. Clark is a highly-respected, experienced doctor in Boulder, CO, who specializes in medical orthopedic treatments of injured joint, ligament, and tendon injuries. At Boulder Prolotherapy, Platelet-Rich Plasma Therapy is used to provide injury healing and pain relief through regenerative injection therapy. After receiving effective regenerative medical treatment like Platelet-Rich Plasma Therapy joints, tendons and ligaments feel like new, again.
What is the definition of Platelet-Rich Plasma Therapy?
While Platelet-Rich Plasma Therapy (PRP Therapy) sounds like a mouthful, it isn’t too difficult to understand. Platelet-Rich Plasma Therapy is a medical orthopedic treatment in which a patient’s blood platelets are injected directly into an injured tendon or ligament.
In order to understand how the therapy works, it is important to know a little about platelet biology. For instance, platelets are a normal, cellular component of the blood. Each platelet is loaded with very small secretory vesicles, or granules. These granules are full of growth-factors, which are proteins that enhance tissue growth, activating cellular proliferation and manufacturing of collagen (the main building block of ligament and tendon tissue) when bound to receptors on a cell’s surface. These growth factor proteins promote tissue repair, proliferation, and differentiation.
Procedurally, the doctor draws a sample of the patient’s blood and separates the platelets from that sample using a specially-designed centrifuge. After harvesting two to three cubic centimeters of platelet-rich plasma (the patient’s own platelets suspended in the patient’s own plasma), the doctor injects theplatelets into the patient’s injured tissue to ultimately strengthen the injured tendon or ligament, thus alleviating pain. Of course, the number of separate injections required in a given session and the number of treatment sessions required to resolve any given injury depends on the scope and severity of that injury.
While its definition sounds complex , Platelet-Rich Plasma Therapy is a relatively simple and natural method by which a medical orthopedic doctor helps patients regain full comfort and use of their joints, tendons and ligaments.
Platelet-Rich Plasma Injections and their Benefits
Platelet-Rich Plasma injections are designed to treat many specific ligament and tendon injuries. Musculoskeletal injuries that PRP treatment will heal include:
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Joint instability and joint arthritis
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Sacroiliac joint injury/pain/sprain/dysfunction
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Low back (lumbar) pain
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Scoliosis syndrome
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Sciatica and pseudo sciatica
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Shoulder pain
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Elbow pain
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Wrist pain
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Hand/finger pain
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Hip pain
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Knee/kneecap pain
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Ankle pain
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Foot/toe pain
Reading the list, above, an obviously huge benefit to receiving regenerative platelet-rich plasma injections is so versatile that it can heal virtually any joint, tendon, or ligament sprain injury. Furthermore, platelet-rich plasma injections offer the benefit of healing and strengthening joint injuries without surgery. Thus, PRP treatment is a much more natural and comfortable method for many patients. The natural aspect of the therapy, using the patient’s own growth factors, makes the medical procedure extremely safe for the patient’s body to accept.
While all the injuries listed, above, are significant, platelet-rich-plasma injections can be of particular value in treating, sacroiliac joint sprain injury, with its pseudo-sciatic pain and dysfunction, as well as in treating lower back pain and scoliosis.
Overall, PRP treatment is highly effective for keeping discomfort and pain at bay and is one of the few truly effective regenerative options available.
PRP Injection Recovery Time
The entire treatment process, including platelet preparation, before the PRP injection, the injection, itself, and post-therapeutic recovery time, normally takes two hours. There is very little recovery time normally experienced immediately following the treatment, but that naturally varies depending on the scope and severity of the injury being treated. Patients are asked to minimize physical activity for at least the first 24 hours. However, it is possible to participate in regular daily activities immediately after the procedure, keeping in mind the general rule that one needs to stop performing any activity that causes any increased pain at the injection site.
PRP Pain Relief and Treatment Near Me
If you find yourself searching for “PRP treatment near me,” then Dr. Clark is the best medical orthopedic doctor for you. At Boulder Prolotherapy, located in Boulder, CO, Dr. Clark uses his evidence-proven Platelet-Rich-Plasma Therapy to help his patients recover from severe tendon and ligament joint injuries, as well as provide them with much needed pain relief. Contact Dr. Clark if you would like to hear more about his PRP Therapy by calling his office at (303)-444-5131 or filling out the form on his website. If you have any tendon or ligament pain, come down to Boulder Prolotherapy for pain relief. This will free you from of searching for “PRP treatment near me” again.