A sports injury is any type of injury that results from physical activity. Some of the most common types of sports injuries are soft-tissue injuries, whereby the muscles, ligaments, or tendons are overstretched or torn.
Today, PRP (platelet-rich plasma) therapy is increasingly being used to aid in healing sports injuries. PRP therapy is a type of regenerative medicine that involves the use of your own body’s blood platelets. The doctor extracts a small sample of your blood, processes it to concentrate the platelets, and then injects the concentrated solution – the platelet-rich plasma – directly into the site of injury.
The platelets naturally rush to the site of the injury to fix the damage, just as they do when forming a scab. Platelets also contain growth factors that are essential to healing.
Sports injuries may heal on their own, but PRP therapy can help to jumpstart and enhance the healing process. Let’s talk about how PRP helps to heal sports injuries and where you can go to find out how it might help you.
Sports Injuries Treated with PRP Therapy
Platelet-rich plasma therapy is minimally invasive, requiring only injection treatment. For precision, doctors usually utilize ultrasound technology when administering PRP therapy injections in order to target the pain or injury being treated.
It can be used as part of a comprehensive treatment for a wide variety of musculoskeletal injuries. The sports injuries that have shown to respond particularly well to PRP therapy include:
- Tendonitis (inflammation of a tendon)
- Sprain (a pulled or torn ligament)
- Strained hamstring
- Achilles tendon rupture
- Rotator cuff injury (shoulder)
- Tennis elbow
- Golfer’s elbow
- Jumper’s knee
- Plantar fasciitis (foot)
- Arthritis
- Torn meniscus (knee)
PRP therapy not only boosts healing but also relieves pain. This includes pain relief from arthritis, which can develop in anyone from young athletes to active adults. PRP provides much longer-lasting results than do over-the-counter pain relievers.
How PRP Therapy Helps Avoid Surgery
PRP therapy can also help delay or completely eliminate the need for surgery, because many patients achieve sufficient pain relief to render surgery unnecessary. Moreover, patients who receive the treatment often tell their doctor that they notice improved function of the affected body part.
Because your own blood is used to heal yourself, PRP therapy also has little to no side effects. There is no likelihood of the body rejecting the treatment itself.
Sports Medicine Doctor in Plantation, FL
A sports injury can put your life on hold, but treatment by a knowledgeable sports physician can help make the recovery time as quick as possible. Here at Baylis & Brown Orthopedics, our fellowship-trained sports medicine doctors are experts at diagnosing and treating the full range of sports injuries. We offer regenerative medicine, including PRP, and this may be combined with traditional methods for optimum results for you.
If you have any questions or would like to schedule a consultation, call Baylis & Brown Orthopedics today at (954) 476-8800 or fill out our appointment request form online now. We look forward to helping you get back to doing the things you love.
