Blood is composed of multiple components, including plasma, red and white blood cells, and platelets. Plasma consists mainly of water and serves to carry the other components. As for the red cells, they are responsible for transporting oxygen to the tissues and eliminating carbon dioxide, and the white cells for fighting infections.
Platelets are cells in charge of helping blood coagulation, favoring tissue regeneration and repairing damaged blood vessels.
What does the Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) treatment consist of?
During the therapy, a quantity of the patient’s blood is prepared by centrifugation to separate the platelets from the rest of the components. The result is a plasma with a high concentration of platelets, which are infiltrated directly into the site of injury to promote inflammation and accelerate the healing process.
Why choose this treatment over other options?
PRP offers the opportunity to heal the affected area and establish a permanent solution. On the other hand, corticosteroid injection is not considered a long-term solution and can weaken the tissues if the application of these drugs is repeated repeatedly.
Compared to surgery, platelet treatment is much less expensive, presents less risk of infection and a faster recovery. In addition, infiltrations are less invasive and, as mentioned above, can produce permanent improvement.
In which cases is PRP treatment indicated?
– Tendinitis and tendinosis
– Patellar tendon
– Achilles tendon
– Shoulder tendons
– Chronic ligament injuries
– Joint pain due to cartilaginous lesions
– Osteoarthritis
– Partial rotator cuff injuries
– Bursitis
– Plantar fasciitis
– Epicondylitis and epitrocleitis
– Sports injuries
– Muscle injuries
How is the PRP infiltration process?
First of all, you should have an initial consultation with your orthopedic specialist to find out if you need PRP treatment. In some cases, an MRI or ultrasound may be recommended to confirm the diagnosis and rule out other pathologies that may cause complications. If you are a candidate for treatment you will be scheduled for the infiltration.
PRP therapy does not require admission and can be performed in the office or an outpatient operating room. In many cases, the infiltration will be guided by ultrasound to ensure optimal localization of the lesion or infiltration site. After treatment, the presence of redness and a slight increase in temperature over the next two days is normal.