Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP)
Platelet-rich-plasma (PRP) is a blood product derived from the patient’s own blood. Through the local introduction of increased levels of platelets and the associated bioactive molecules (proteins and growth factors), PRP has been used to biologically augment the healing and regeneration of damaged tissue.
In theory, the increased levels of these bioactive molecules stimulate the wound healing and regenerative process of damaged tissue. This has been seen especially in degenerative tissues or biologically compromised individuals.
While the use of PRP treatments has been increasingly utilized in the treatment of a variety of sports-related injuries, chronic injuries, and skin rejuvenation, improvements in healing and clinical outcomes have not been universally reported. One reason for this may be the fact that all PRP preparations have not been the same.
Several factors can affect the character and potential efficacy of the final PRP product: variations in the volume of whole blood taken, the final volume of plasma in which the platelets are suspended, the presence or absence of white blood cells, the addition of exogenous thrombin to activate the platelets or calcium chloride to induce fibrin formation, and the spinning down process.
The premise behind treatment is that by injecting PRP into damaged tissues, it will stimulate your body to grow new, healthy cells and promote healing.
Because the tissue growth factors are more concentrated in the prepared growth injections, some research has shown that the body’s tissues may heal faster.
The treatment does have some controversy regarding efficacy, but it has gained significant popularity and demand with world-wide appreciation of its abilities from at least an anecdotal standpoint.
Although it has not been approved as a treatment by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, famous athletes like Tiger Woods and tennis star Rafael Nadal have been known to use these injections to help heal injuries.
Proposed Benefits
Hair loss: Medical providers have injected platelet rich plasma into the scalp to stimulate hair growth and improve hair health to potentially prevent hair loss. A 2014 research study: “Platelet-Rich Plasma in Androgenic Alopecia: Myth or an Effective Tool”, demonstrated that platelet rich plasma injections are effective in treating androgenic alopecia (aka: male pattern baldness).
Tendon/Ligament injuries: Tendons are fibrous bands of tissue that connect muscle to bone, and ligaments are fibrous bands that connect bone to bone. Due to limited blood flow, these tissues are typically slow to heal after injury and can become chronic injuries. Medical providers have used PRP injections to treat these acute and chronic problems, which include golfer's elbow, tennis elbow, Achilles tendonitis at the ankle, and jumper’s knee, or pain in the patellar tendon in the knee.
Acute injuries: Doctors have used platelet rich plasma injections to treat acute sports injuries, such as pulled muscles or knee sprains.
Postsurgical repair: This is arguably where PRP has its origins. PRP has been used in surgery to assist with repair and integration of tissue with surgical treatment of tendon repairs, such as rotator cuff repair, and with ligament tears occurring in anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction.
Osteoarthritis: There has been an increase in the use of intra-articular PRP injections to assist with stabilization of osteoarthritis. PRP has been injected into the knees of people with osteoarthritis with some good results. A 2015 study entitled, “Knee Osteoarthritis Injection Choices: Platelet- Rich Plasma (PRP) Versus Hyaluronic Acid, “ found that platelet rich plasma injections were more effective than hyaluronic acid injections for treating osteoarthritis.
Soft tissue regenerative procedures: Facial, vaginal, and penile rejuvenation procedures have been developed over the last years to increase genitalia sensitivity and erectile dysfunction.
In addition, PRP has demonstrated good results with skin rejuvenation when specifically used in facial procedures. Some of the names associated with these procedures are the “ED-shot,” “V-shot,” and the “Facials"