Growth factors are platelet-derived proteins found in the blood that are naturally activated in the presence of injured tissues. The use that can be made is to apply them in tissues with both acute and chronic injuries that are difficult for them to recover by themselves or to speed up the healing process.
Ligament injuries are one of the scenarios where their application shows great possibilities. When plasma growth factors are applied in injured ligaments, we observe a greater speed in the regeneration of these tissues, which can accelerate the recovery times of injuries that classically leave many patients out of sports, work or daily life.
It is not so much a question of obtaining better results with this treatment, but rather an acceleration of the final result. The great advantage is that, in cases in which regeneration may not be complete, the repeated use of infiltrations with plasma rich in growth factors can contribute decisively to the reconstitution of these tissues.
Wide-ranging potential
In principle, all ligament injuries can benefit from the effect of growth factors, but only if there are ligament fibers on which they can act. It does not make sense to use them in cases of chronic anterior cruciate ligament ruptures in which there are no fibers, but they can be used in ruptures of the same ligament if there are sufficient remnants and with adequate tension. In this scenario, the factors can contribute to greater stability and therefore a much faster recovery.
In acute cases, it is applied in liquid form for infiltration on the injured area at an early stage, repeating the infiltration if required after a week. To do it this way, the patient must be monitored to observe the speed of regeneration: if with a single infiltration we can give stability to a joint because it regenerates the ligament, we do not needle more times because we will have achieved our objectives of giving stability, reducing inflammation and pain in the affected area.
In addition, in anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction surgeries it is a common practice to use growth factors, since they have shown an acceleration in recovery times of patients and also results in the early return to sports practice.
Beneficial for athletes
In fact, these treatments are particularly suitable in the sports area because of their speed. It is clear that athletes have a special interest not only in recovering from their injuries, like any other patient, but also in doing so in the shortest possible time in order to achieve an early return to sport. For this reason, growth factors are a very valid instrument to accelerate reincorporation after ligament injuries to their usual sport.
Any athlete who has injured a joint, muscle, tendon, ligament or even bone and cartilage can benefit from this therapy. Until a few years ago we believed in the inability of tissues such as cartilage to regenerate, but now we have been able to prove that this is not the case. Biological therapies such as growth factors are capable of regenerating tissues that we never imagined.