Living with chronic pain is difficult. It affects every aspect of your life. Whether you’re dealing with back pain, an aching knee or shoulder, a tendon injury, or any number of other problems, even getting out of bed can be an ordeal.
If conservative measures such as rest, physical therapy, and medications haven’t brought relief, you’re likely looking for new treatment options, especially if you’ve been told surgery is on the table.
At ReGen Pain Management in Plano and Frisco, Texas, Dr. Jonathan Koning and his team often have patients ask whether a newer treatment called PRP therapy would be effective for their chronic pain. Here’s what we tell them.
PRP, or platelet-rich plasma therapy, uses concentrated platelets from your own blood to jumpstart your body’s natural healing processes. We take a blood sample, spin it in a centrifuge to concentrate the platelets, and inject the platelet-rich solution into the site of your pain or injury.
The platelets include growth factors that speed up your body’s healing mechanisms and help it repair damaged tissue, cartilage, tendons, and ligaments.
It’s not an immediate solution. Healing takes time and becomes noticeable over weeks and months as your body repairs itself.
PRP is a good treatment choice if you’re suffering from various musculoskeletal conditions, including osteoarthritis, tendonitis, ligament sprains, rotator cuff injuries, joint pain, and chronic sports injuries.
It’s a good choice if you want to try a natural, regenerative approach to heal your body from within rather than using medications such as steroids to mask the pain.
PRP is also a good option if you’ve tried treatments such as physical therapy and behavior modification without results and you want to delay or avoid surgery if possible.
Many patients experience reduced pain and inflammation, increased mobility, and enhanced healing after the procedure.
PRP isn’t a good option if you’re dealing with pain from an active infection, whether localized or widespread. It also isn’t a cure for a cancer diagnosis and has limited effectiveness if you’re dealing with a bone-on-bone arthritis situation.
If you’re interested in exploring PRP therapy as a potential pain-relief solution, our team at ReGen Pain Management has extensive experience guiding patients through the treatment. To schedule an appointment, call our location most convenient to you or book online today.
