Growth factor therapy is a therapy used to repair injured tissues mainly in the musculoskeletal system and sports medicine.
What are growth factors?
Growth factors are proteins contained in blood platelets and are responsible for the regeneration, remodeling and repair of injured and/or worn tissues. In addition, they have the ability to regulate cellular functions such as proliferation, migration, synthesis of extracellular matrix to heal injured tissues.
In which cases is it applied?
This regenerative therapy is increasingly applied in various pathologies of the human body, but where it is most used is in the section of osteoarticular diseases and sports medicine. Muscle and tendon fiber ruptures, weak or torn ligaments, fractures and cartilage are some of the injuries treated with this therapy. The side effects of the application of this regenerative therapy of growth factors are of minimal incidence, with respect to other therapies to treat the same pathology. The plasma is obtained from the patient himself, avoiding a possible rejection by the patient.
How are the growth factors obtained?
The patient’s blood is extracted, the amount of which depends on the area to be treated. This blood is centrifuged at a certain speed and time to separate the platelets from the rest of the cells. Approximately 3 or 4 ml of plasma rich in growth factors are obtained for every 10 ml of blood extracted. The process is simple and minimally invasive, so it is performed on an outpatient basis. The infiltrations are performed in the office or in the operating room, depending on the case, and the duration of the infiltrations is usually about 40 minutes.
Advantages of growth factors
They constitute a natural way of healing muscular and skeletal injuries, and it is a treatment with rapid processing and implantation.