Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP)

What is platelet-rich plasma (PRP)?

PRP therapy uses your body’s platelets to jump-start the healing process. Your platelets, a layer of your blood, are the cells that bind with damaged blood vessels to cause blood clotting when you’re injured. 

Platelets also contain large quantities of growth factors. Those growth factors work in several ways to help you heal when you’re injured, including reducing inflammation, stimulating new cell growth, and repairing damaged tissue.

When you’re injured, your body’s platelets gravitate to the damaged tissue. But the initial platelet response rapidly diminishes, so healing usually takes a while. 

With PRP treatment, you receive an influx of concentrated platelets directly from your blood, leading to much faster healing and improved pain relief.

What types of injuries does platelet-rich plasma treat?

PRP treats several kinds of injuries, including: 

• Ligament injuries like torn ACL, MCL, or LCL
• Tendon injuries like Achilles tendinitis or jumper’s knee
• Muscle injuries like pulled hamstrings

People with osteoarthritis may also experience a significant reduction in inflammation and pain with PRP treatment. 

PRP can combine with another precision medicine treatment, human tissue allograft (HTA), to intensify healing. This is especially helpful for patients 60 and older who have fewer natural healing platelets in their blood. 

How does platelet-rich plasma treatment work?

PRP treatment requires a simple blood draw from an arm vein. The vial of blood goes into a specialized machine that separates the layers of blood. 

After that, Dr. Enty draws the platelets into a syringe. He then injects the concentrated platelets into the area where you need to stimulate healing. The process takes only minutes in the Genesis Pain and Regenerative Medicine office. 

How many platelet-rich plasma injections do I need?

Most patients only need a few injections to see results. After your PRP injections, you can expect faster healing with a corresponding decrease in inflammation and pain.

Long-term, you may need periodic PRP injections for chronic conditions like arthritis. You may not need retreatment for injuries since PRP stimulates your body to heal itself.