Have you considered PRP therapy for your pain? You’re not alone. An estimated one in three Americans has benefited from regenerative medicine. Regenerative medicine is a branch of medicine that focuses on regenerating tissues to ease pain or treat injuries. PRP therapy is a treatment that falls under this category – and it’s available at Spine Group Beverly Hills.
If degenerative conditions are keeping you from living the life you want, consider PRP therapy. Dr. John Regan is an expert when it comes to regenerative medicine treatments such as PRP therapy and stem cell therapy.
If you’re new to the idea of regenerative medicine, you might wonder how they work. In this guide, we’ll explore the component of PRP and how it can promote healing and pain relief.
PRP is an abbreviation for platelet-rich plasma. As the name suggests, PRP therapy is a type of regenerative treatment that utilizes the healing power of PRP. To understand PRP therapy, let’s first define what plasma and platelets are.
This is the liquid part of your blood, and it contains water and different proteins. You can think of plasma as the vehicle for red and white blood cells, as well as platelets.
Platelets – officially known as thrombocytes – are blood cells. Unlike red or white blood cells, these cells are colorless. Platelets are made in your bone marrow and they serve many functions:
PRP therapy is a serum rich in platelets, meaning PRP therapy injections contain 10 times more platelets than your blood normally would contain.
If you’re considering PRP therapy, there are a few steps in the process, including taking your blood sample, preparing the sample, injecting the serum, and allowing your body time to heal as tissue regeneration is promoted.
The first step in PRP therapy is preparing your injection:
Once injected, the platelets stimulate your body’s healing response. According to research published in the Journal of Spine Surgery, PRP therapy can also help reduce inflammatory responses and promote tissue repair. PRP is often used in a sports medicine setting, but the same Journal of Spine Surgery study showed PRP therapy as an effective way to reduce discogenic back pain.
PRP therapy doesn’t reduce your pain or discomfort overnight. That’s because it does take time for the platelets to encourage cellular renewal and tissue repair. That being said, PRP injections are tolerated well since there are no synthetic ingredients used – it’s simply your blood and your healing platelets.
If you’d like to learn more about PRP therapy, contact our office to schedule an appointment at our Beverly Hills or Santa Monica, California location today.
