Do you know what unites such athletes as golfer Tiger Woods, footballers LaRon Landry and Hines Ward, sprinter Donovan Bailey, baseball players Alex Rodriguez and John Paterson, basketball player Brandon Roy and many others? All of them used PRP therapy, which helped them significantly reduce the recovery time from their injuries. In the Medical Center, high-tech achievements of sports medicine are available not only to the stars of professional sports, but also to all those who need them.

Method essence

This method allows the biological potential of the body to be used in the treatment process. The therapy is based on the use of the patient's own platelet-rich plasma (PRP - Platelet-Rich Plasma). Due to the numerous growth factors contained in the alpha granules of platelets, which can be simultaneously or gradually released into the surrounding tissues, there is a targeted effect on the regeneration or reparative process. The results are impressive. So, if in whole blood the average number of platelet cells is in the range from 150,000 to 300,000 per microliter of plasma, then in enriched plasma the number of platelet cells can reach 1,000,000.

How is the procedure going?

The procedure itself is less traumatic for the patient and takes no more than 30 minutes. The patient "donates blood from a vein", as in a conventional laboratory test (15-20 ml). Then, in laboratory conditions, a biological product is prepared using a special centrifugation method. The platelet-rich plasma material is transferred to an orthopedic surgeon who performs a puncture (injection) and injects the drug intra-articularly or into another "problem" area. After the procedure, the patient does not experience any discomfort and can go home after 10 minutes. Usually, for a course of treatment, depending on the severity of the problem, you need from two to five injections.

For what diseases is it recommended?

In recent years, intra-articular administration of platelet-rich plasma has been actively used in patients with osteoarthritis of large joints. Also, this method is used for a number of other orthopedic diseases: shoulder - scapular periarthritis, epicondylitis (tennis elbow), inflammation of the Achilles tendons and others.

Unfortunately, over time, our osteoarticular system wears out and deforms in the knee and hip joints. Such changes limit our activity and reduce our quality of life, so it is very important that the joints move freely and without pain. Relatively recently, leading orthopedic traumatologists from around the world began to successfully use PRP-therapy for the restoration and rejuvenation of joints.

PRP Method

The procedure is very simple and takes no more than 15-20 minutes. Blood is taken from the patient's vein with prp tubes and placed in a special prp centrifuge. Within 8-10 minutes centrifugal forces separate the plasma. During this process, the concentration of platelets in its composition increases 5-7 times, which play an important role in the processes of tissue regeneration. Then platelet-rich plasma is injected into the affected joint, or into the area of ​​damaged tendons and muscles. The manipulation can be performed using local anesthesia. PRP injections can be done in the shoulder, knee, ankle, hip, or finger joints

DENSITYLIFE


The healing properties of blood were discovered 100 years ago, when the German surgeon August Beer noted: if a hematoma forms around the bone, the fracture heals faster. 

In modern medicine, it is not the blood itself that is used for medicinal purposes, but only a part of it - plasma. It contains an increased number of platelets, which release growth factors, thus acting locally on body tissues and promoting the healing and recovery process.

Clinical studies in recent years have confirmed the practical effectiveness of this method, therefore it is increasingly used in various branches of medicine - in microsurgery, orthopedics, traumatology, gynecology, urology, aesthetic medicine, etc.

PRP (Platelet Rich Plasma) is a person's own plasma, enriched with platelets. Plasma is the liquid part of the blood, which contains vitamins, proteins, enzymes, hormones and other useful substances. Plasma also contains growth factors that activate cell growth and renewal. As a result of this effect, the inflammatory process is eliminated, the healing of damaged muscles, ligaments and tendons is accelerated.

PRP plasma contains 3-5 times more growth factors, cytokines and other biologically active proteins than whole blood. Thus, this effective method of regenerative medicine makes it possible to treat joint, tendon and muscle-fascial pain in a non-surgical way.

PRP therapy promotes:


• relieving muscle spasm and strengthening the muscles surrounding the joint;

• activation of blood supply in the area of ​​the affected joint;

• elimination of joint pain;

• improving the supply of nutrients to the articular cartilage;

• restoration of freedom of movement;

• stimulating the formation of bone and cartilage tissue;

• accelerating the process of rehabilitation after injuries and operations.


Advantages:


- no risk of intolerance and the likelihood of developing allergies - the plasma of one's own blood is completely biocompatible with the human body;

- natural stimulation of the body's ability to heal itself;

- an effective alternative to drugs;

- no side effects (unlike drugs);

- long-term effect after the course of treatment.


Indications for PPR-therapy:


• coxarthrosis (deforming arthrosis of the hip joints);

• gonarthrosis (deforming arthrosis of the knee joints);

• osteochondrosis, hernia and protrusion of intervertebral discs;

• scoliosis and kyphoscoliosis;

• tendenitis and ligamentitis (inflammation of the ligaments and tendons, including the Achilles tendon);

• arthritis and periarthritis of various localization;

• fasciitis (including plantar fasciitis, or the so-called "heel spur").

• muscle pain and spasms of various etiologies;

• epicondylitis (tennis elbow);

• subacromial syndrome;

• joint inflammation in athletes;

• problems with the formation of cartilage and bone tissue;

• injuries of the musculoskeletal system.

Contraindications:

• infectious and viral diseases;

• systemic connective tissue diseases;

• oncopathology;

• changes in the blood coagulation system (hypo- or hypercoagulation);

• immunodeficiencies;

• diabetes;

• neuroses and other mental disorders;

• pregnancy and feeding.

You should not use PRP therapy if:

• the level of platelets is less than 100 thousand / μl, the level of hemoglobin is less than 100 g / l;

• you can not stop taking drugs that affect blood clotting;

• increased body temperature.


 

Training


1. Before the first procedure, you need to donate blood for a detailed analysis (to determine the level of platelets in the blood). This will help assess the degree of effectiveness of the planned PRP therapy.

2. For 2 weeks before taking blood, the use of anticoagulants is excluded, i.e. drugs that affect the blood coagulation system (aspirin, warfarin, clexane, etc.).

3. The day before the procedure, do not eat fatty foods, do not drink alcohol and carbonated drinks, do not smoke.

4. It is recommended to diversify the diet with foods that contain vitamins B (whole grains, black bread) and C (sauerkraut, black currant). It is also necessary to provide a full drinking regime.

5. 4 hours before the procedure, you should refrain from eating and limit yourself to drinking plenty of fluids (2-3 glasses of water is required, you can use tea or freshly squeezed juice).

6. For 2-3 days, stop taking NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs: diclofenac, ibuprofen, etc.) and do not take such medications for a week after the procedure. Taking these drugs blocks the action of plasma growth factors, and this can reduce the therapeutic effect of the procedure.


One week after the injection, one should refrain from sports activities that load the sore joint.

To achieve the best effect, it is recommended to complete the full course (3-7 injections with an interval of one week). As a rule, the duration of the course is determined by the severity of the pain syndrome. Therefore, the number of sessions is individual and determined by the doctor. During the course of treatment, the tissues of the entire musculoskeletal system are strengthened.