Athletes who endure chronic pain from tendon injuries can finally get relief from a safe, non-surgical procedure. It’s called Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) Therapy, and it utilizes platelets from the athletes’ own blood to rebuild a damaged tendon. It has been successful in not only relieving the pain, but also in jump-starting the healing process.
Tendons are the rope-like structures that connect muscle to bone, enabling the bone to move. When a tendon is first injured, it can become inflamed, swollen and painful. This injury is often experienced by athletes in tennis, baseball, football, and any other sport .
However, most chronic tendon pain lacks significant inflammation as the tissue itself begins to break down. This is why traditional treatments like rest, ice and anti-inflammatory medications do not often provide long-lasting relief. For years, the last resort was a surgeon trying to cut away the damaged tendon, with very mixed success.
Platelet-Rich Plasma Therapy (PRP) was recently introduced to the Active Foot & Ankle Team. The procedure is done in an exam room and takes less than 30 minutes. The patient’s blood is drawn and placed in a centrifuge for 8 minutes to separate out the platelets. The layer of platelet-rich plasma is then injected into the diseased portion of the tendon.
Patients are put on a program of relative rest followed by physical therapy for the first 6 weeks. After about 6 to 12 weeks, patients are re-evaluated for improvement. Some patients with more difficult injuries may take more than one treatment to achieve successful outcomes.
The majority of PRP patients find that within 3 months they can return to most or all of the activities they were doing before the pain started.
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