No one should have to live with constant pain. Whether it’s debilitating or simply bothersome, dealing with aching joints or muscles day in and day out is tiresome and greatly affects the quality of life that one can have. However, most people suffering from pain try to ignore it for as long as possible and avoid seeking medical help due to fear of surgery and the hope that it’ll go away on its own. Unfortunately, pain that continuously returns or never quite seems to go away is highly unlikely to disappear on it’s own but surgery doesn’t have to be the only form of treatment. You might’ve heard of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) treatment, it has been growing in popularity and many sports professionals have been benefiting from it. PRP is a regenerative treatment for pain relief that can be an attractive alternative to surgery.
What Is Platelet-Rich Plasma?
Blood is made up of different components, the liquid portion of it being plasma. Plasma is mainly composed of water and proteins, and carries red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets throughout the body. Platelets are blood cells best known for their ability to clot blood. However, platelets also contain important proteins called growth factors that are essential in the body’s healing functions.
Platelet-rich plasma is plasma that holds a significantly higher concentration of platelets than would be normally found in blood. In order to obtain PRP, blood is drawn from the patient and the platelets are separated from other blood cells through a process called centrifugation. The result is plasma with a high number of platelets and, in turn, a high concentration of growth factors.
How Does PRP Work?
When soft tissue is injured, the body responds by delivering platelet cells to the injury site. Because of the proteins and growth factors found in platelets, the body is able to repair itself through the recruitment, proliferation and differentiation of cells needed for regeneration. PRP treatment works in the same way, except that it speeds up the healing of musculoskeletal conditions due to the higher number of platelets being delivered.
PRP treatment is administered through a series of injections directly into or around the point of injury. Platelets are able to migrate to injury sites and essentially jump-start and strengthen the body’s natural healing ability by stimulating and increasing the number of reparative cells. PRP treatment is able to relieve chronic pain; heal acute ligament, muscle, tendon and cartilage injuries; and regulate inflammation. Also, because PRP treatment uses the patient’s own blood, there is no risk of infection.
Regenerative Treatment In South Florida
Platelet-rich plasma treatment relieves pain by supporting the body’s natural ability to heal itself. It doesn’t just mask the pain the way medications do, it actually goes to the root of the problem to correct it and help prevent it from returning. If you suffer from joint, muscle or even bone pain, at BioCure we may be able to help you through the use of regenerative, platelet-rich plasma treatment.
