If you’re at all interested in cutting-edge medicine, you’ve probably heard about platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy. Even though PRP first made headlines when athletes like Pittsburgh Steeler Hines Ward used it to accelerate recovery from sports injuries, doctors and researchers seem to find new applications for PRP ever day.
Google “PRP” and you’ll find it is recommended for everything from regrowing hair to filling out wrinkles to repairing fractured bones and torn tendons.
Our prestigious team of rheumatologists and medical experts at Rheumatology Center of New Jersey believe in offering the most effective, cutting-edge treatments possible, including PRP. Here are just a few reasons why they recommend PRP and why it’s becoming so popular:
When you have an injury, your body rushes blood to the site to help you heal. One component of your blood — the platelets — coagulates so that your blood vessels stop leaking. The platelets also suffuse your injured tissues with growth factors, fibrins, and proteins to help them rebuild themselves and recover full function.
To create PRP for this treatment, we remove a small amount of your blood and then process it in a centrifuge to isolate the most potent type of platelets. By concentrating these healing powerhouses into a small amount of your plasma (the liquid portion of your blood), and injecting it directly into a site of injury, we provide your body about five to 10 times as many healing factors than normal.
The super-concentrated number of growth factors and proteins lets your body repair injured tissues faster and more efficiently than it could otherwise. Your recovery time could be cut in half.
Because PRP is derived from your own blood, it’s 100% natural, allergen-free, and can’t be rejected by your body. The entire process — from drawing blood to processing it to re-injecting it — only takes about an hour and requires no additives or preservatives. Nothing other than your own platelets and plasma are used in PRP.
Other than some slight swelling or discomfort from the injections themselves, PRP has no side effects. You can return to work and your normal activities — including going to the gym — directly after your therapy. You can use cold compresses and over-the-counter painkillers to control any discomfort.
To help you heal, get back into play, and enjoy your life more fully, the experts at Rheumatology Center of New Jersey recommend PRP therapy to treat:
You may also receive PRP to accelerate healing and recovery after surgery. During tendon repair, for instance, PRP may actually be stitched into the tissue to facilitate mending.
To find out if you’re a candidate for PRP therapy to heal injuries and disabilities or to regrow hair, call us today to schedule a visit at one of our four locations — Princeton, Monroe, Somerville, or Flemington — or book an appointment through this website.
