PRP Therapy

PRP Therapy – This therapy involves growth factor treatment or platelet-rich plasma enrichment. Orthopedic Traumatologist .

How Can Joint Pain Be Alleviated?

Unfortunately, over time, our musculoskeletal system ages, wears out, and undergoes deformities in knee and hip joints, often leading to joint replacement or disability. Changes in the joints restrict range of motion, activity, and decrease quality of life. Therefore, it is crucial for joints to move well – freely and without pain.

Joint problems usually begin with changes in joint cartilage. Visually, they no longer resemble smoothly boiled and beautifully cleaned eggs. They become soft, uneven, and rough, thus losing their smoothness. Joint ligaments also begin to weaken, leading to a range of problems.

Solutions:
To reduce pain and discomfort in the knee joint, there are several solutions:

• Chondroprotectors, such as glucosamine and other supplements, improve metabolism in the cartilage. While some find relief with these supplements, others do not. They are natural dietary supplements, harmless to the body.
• For severe pain, joint blockade, corticosteroid, or hormonal injections can be administered. They quickly relieve pain and swelling but do not address the underlying cause. It is not recommended to exceed 3-4 injections per course.
• Hyaluronic acid injections. Hyaluronic acid acts as a lubricant and also induces positive changes in the joints. It covers the surface of cartilage, reducing friction and facilitating movement. For a stable effect, injections should be repeated once a year. However, this only temporarily improves the condition without curing it.
• Growth factor injections or platelet-rich plasma therapy (PRP). This unique method holds promise for the positive influence of growth factors on cartilage and tendon tissue regeneration. Unlike other injections, PRP treats the source of pain, often effectively eliminating prolonged pain and inflammation.

What is PRP Therapy?

PRP Therapy (Platelet Rich Plasma) involves using plasma extracted from the patient’s blood for injections into the affected joint. Plasma contains an increased number of platelets, which release growth factors, thus locally affecting the body’s tissues and promoting healing, regeneration, and recovery processes.

Clinical studies in recent years have confirmed the practical effectiveness of this method, making it increasingly used in various medical fields – microsurgery, orthopedics, traumatology, gynecology, urology, aesthetic medicine, and more.

A harmless alternative💉

Plasma injections do not harm the body or cause allergic reactions since the patient’s own blood is used. This method naturally stimulates the body’s ability to self-heal, reducing or completely eliminating pain without surgical intervention, without the use of hormonal or chemical medications. Local injections of growth factors can precisely target the site of inflammation or tissue damage. They activate the formation of new cells and stimulate the healing processes in the tissues.

For your information:
PRP contains approximately 5-10 times more growth factors than regular blood.

Procedure Execution
The procedure takes about 20 minutes. It is a straightforward process – 20 ml of blood is drawn from the patient’s vein and placed in a special centrifuge. Within eight minutes, centrifugal forces separate the plasma – a yellowish liquid containing a large number of platelets that release various growth factors. The plasma is then drawn into a syringe and immediately injected into the joint. This is all done in one session and does not require the patient to wait for blood preparation.

Is Preparatory Preparation Required?

No special preparation is required. The procedure should not be performed during disease exacerbations, if there are any inflammatory processes, poor health, or fever. It should be noted that PRP injection does not replace painkillers – it is performed only when acute pain is relieved.

Before the procedure, it is advisable to plan your time correctly. It is undesirable to undergo the injection if intense physical activity, such as a long walk or biking trip, is planned immediately afterward.

The day after the procedure, it is not advisable to apply heat or perform other manipulations that may affect the injection results.

For one week after the injection, it is advisable to follow a gentle lifestyle, refraining from sports activities that strain the affected joint.

When Do Results Appear?

The procedure cannot make things worse, it only helps! Many patients feel relief and positive changes within a few days as inflammation and pain decrease. However, this largely depends on the degree and extent of joint damage. In any case, the sensations vary, as deformation can be in the early, moderate, or advanced stages. Typically, improvement occurs within about a month.

Is One Injection Sufficient?

Usually, yes. However, some patients may be recommended to have a repeat injection after 2-3 weeks. For sustained effectiveness, it can be done once a year.

This procedure can also be performed for preventive purposes. For example, if a patient undergoes joint surgery for another issue and the doctor observes damaged cartilage, they may recommend a PRP injection. Cartilage damage can also be detected during X-rays and MRI examinations when extended joint diagnostics are conducted due to pain.

For your information:
PRP injections can be performed in shoulder, knee, ankle, hip joints, or finger joints. This helps reduce pain in Achilles tendonitis, tennis elbow, golfer’s elbow, etc. Growth factor injection is sometimes a good solution in the fight against chronic pain when all medications have been tried and nothing helps.

Is the Procedure Painful?

No, as local anesthesia is used at the injection site. Anesthesia is not required inside the joint cavity, but to reach it, the needle must pass through the skin, fat layer, and joint capsule. To ensure that the procedure is painless or discomfort-free, anesthetics are first injected into the skin, and then, after changing the syringe, the prepared plasma is injected into the joint through the same needle. Thus, multiple injections are not required – the desired goal can be achieved with one injection.

🚨The procedure is not recommended for:

• Pregnant women;
• Patients with diabetes;
• Those with serious immune system disorders.