Platelet-rich plasma, or PRP, uses your body’s natural capacity for regeneration to hasten healing and reduce discomfort. Even though PRP therapy is a very safe alternative, we at the Regenerative Institute of Newport Beach have found that patients are often wary of PRP therapy because they have heard a lot of myths that unfavourably portray PRP.
We would like to share with you the actual truth behind a few common fallacies as a top authority on PRP therapy.
PRP is a risky procedure
PRP is, in reality, an incredibly safe technique. To begin with, your PRP treatment is autologous, meaning it is created using your blood. You can therefore be at ease concerning any unfavorable responses or adverse effects.
Two main factors contribute to PRP’s perceived safety among medical professionals in clinical practice and researchers: the substance is autologous and has been around for a long time without significant negative effects.
PRP is limited to use in cosmetic issues
Patients frequently inform us that they believed PRP could only be used for facial rejuvenation and hair regrowth in patients experiencing hair loss treatment. Despite being very beneficial for both, PRP is more frequently used to hasten healing and provide pain relief across a wide range of medical ailments.
PRP is frequently utilized in the field of orthopaedics to treat a wide range of ailments, such as meniscal injury, rotator cuff tears, ligament and tendon ruptures, and other soft tissue injuries. Osteoarthritis in the knee, plantar fasciitis, tendinitis, and other inflammatory and degenerative diseases are frequently treated with image-guided injections.
Is PRP therapy painful?
PRP therapy doesn’t cause any discomfort because it is a non-invasive and non-surgical procedure. It is one of the safest methods for regrowing hair and is done under local anaesthesia.
Because the procedure entails injecting a needle into the scalp, some discomfort is to be expected, although it is tolerable. Furthermore, there is little chance of contracting an infectious condition because the scalp is used for blood injections.
It is typical for certain patients to have modest scalp discomfort and edema. But it goes away on its own after only three to five days.
PRP therapy requires surgery
Surgery is never used to give PRP treatment. PRP is injected for the majority of medical purposes, and real-time imaging is used to guide the needle precisely and guarantee that the PRP is injected precisely where your wounded tissues are. Rejuvenating the skin is an exception. Although PRP can be injected for aesthetic procedures, microneedling is more frequently utilized since it enables PRP to penetrate your skin.
Orthopaedic doctors frequently use PRP at the surgical site to accelerate healing when musculoskeletal conditions require surgery to be repaired. Nevertheless, PRP application is not the only reason for surgery.
PRP is only good for pain relief
PRP is frequently utilized to treat long-term pain issues such as lower back pain. Even if PRP therapy’s main advantage was pain relief, it would still be a remarkable treatment. But PRP will give you a lot more. PRP platelets emit signalling chemicals and growth factors that:
- Regulate inflammation
- Recruit stem cells to the area
- Trigger new tissue production
- Stimulate new blood vessel growth
- Prevent degeneration of healthy tissues
- Produce a matrix that supports new tissue growth
Together, these mechanisms hasten tissue repair and regeneration while also reducing discomfort. PRP therapy works particularly well for serious injuries that can outpace your body’s capacity for healing or for damaged tissues that are taking a long time to mend.
PRP is a new therapy
PRP has been used for a very long time; haematologists developed it in the 1970s to treat thrombocytopenia, a blood disorder. Since the 1980s, it has been widely utilized in maxillofacial surgery. More recently, it has also been used extensively in the healing of musculoskeletal injuries and cosmetic surgeries. Practically every medical speciality, including cardiology, obstetrics, and ophthalmology, is either actively using PRP or researching its potential applications.
You must get PRP therapy from the PRP specialists at the Regenerative Institute of Newport Beach if you’re thinking about it. You can utilize the online booking option or give the office a call if you have any queries or would like to make an appointment.