Platelets are a component of blood that helps in clotting blood and also play a role in the healing process. Platelets contain substances called growth factors that stimulate the body's natural healing processes following an injury or tissue damage. PRP is a blood product made from a sample of the patient's own blood. Special processing methods are used to concentrate the number of platelets in the blood sample, reinjecting the concentrated platelet-rich blood into the site of injury to promote healing.
First, a small amount of blood is extracted from the patient and placed in a special device for processing. The device spins the blood sample at a very high speed to separate the platelets from the plasma, the liquid portion of blood, concentrating the platelets to five times their normal levels or more. Finally, the platelets are reintroduced into the remaining plasma and injected into the treatment site. Because PRP is derived from a patient's own blood, there's no risk of rejection that can occur with materials derived from other sources.
PRP can be used to treat issues like:
PRP is also frequently used in some types of surgery to “jump start" the healing process as soon as the surgery is completed.
The growth factors in platelets use a “signaling” process to stimulate the body's healing processes, causing regeneration of new, healthy tissue at the site of injury. PRP injections promote hyperlocal stimulation of healing as well as regionalized responses for faster and more consistent healing of many types of injuries and tissue damage.
*Individual Results May Vary