What is PRP?
You may have heard of PRP when it gained notice for being used by professional athletes such as Tiger Wood, Rafael Nadal, and Steph Curry, but what exactly is it?PRP stands for platelet rich plasma and is a form of regenerative medicine (a branch of medicine that develops methods to regrow, repair or replace damaged tissues) and is a cutting edge treatment of back pain. Platelet-rich plasma consists of two elements: - plasma (the liquid portion of blood) and platelets (a type of blood cell that plays an important role in healing). Platelets contain growth factors that can trigger cell reproduction and stimulate tissue regeneration or healing in the treated area.To create platelet-rich plasma, a blood sample is taken from patient and placed into a centrifuge (a device that rapidly spins the sample to separate out the other components of the blood from the platelets in order to concentrate them within the plasma). This platelet rich plasma (PRP) is then injected into injured tissues to harness your bodies own healing system by releasing growth factors that stimulate and increase the number of reparative cells your body produces. PRP injections can reduce the need for anti-inflammatories or stronger medications. Because treatments uses the patient’s own tissues, PRP injections are safe. Learn more about PRP injections from the articles below:Platelet-Rich Plasma for the Treatment of Low Back Pain: a Comprehensive Review
Platelet-rich plasma injections: an emerging therapy for chronic discogenic low back pain
A Prospective Study Comparing Platelet-Rich Plasma and Local Anesthetic (LA)/Corticosteroid in Intra-Articular Injection for the Treatment of Lumbar Facet Joint Syndrome
Case series of ultrasound-guided platelet-rich plasma injections for sacroiliac joint dysfunction