Prp injections

[slammer]

Anyone have one of these?  They take your blood and process it for the platelets and then inject it into the joint .   I had my shoulder done last Wed and is still in the healing process.  A lot of pro athletes have this done.  Wondering if it has helped anyone else?

[Mike89]

never heard of this before, how does it work, any info.  I just got a cotizone shot or what ever it's called, seems to help

[slammer]

PRP is Platelet rich Plasma.   Your blood is drawn and processed for the platelets and then injected into the affected joint.  It is similar to a stem cell injection and naturally heals the injury.  It takes time though and more than one injection is sometimes needed.  Most problems develop over time and it takes time repair them with this method.  Sometimes over a couple years.  Dr. explained it this way.  When you get the shot,  it tells your body that you have an injury and sends all this good stuff to that area to begin the healing.  In my case my shoulder has a couple of small tears around the rotator cuff.  Again Dr. explained it like the end of a rope fraying away and this helps to bond everything back together.

 

Clinic is in St Cloud MN so if you would google it you can find it.  A lot of videos on Utube also.  It has been used for many years but is still considered experimental  so your insurance more than likely will not pay for it.  Benefits are no surgery, quicker heal and recovery time (depending on injury) and less cost even though you pay for it.

 

It is used on a lot of the joints on your body including your back, hips, knees etc..  Around 90% success rate.

FYI  my one shot was $1400

Edited November 27, 2016 by slammer
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[slammer]

I also was getting Cortisone shots and eventually they quit working.  They do not heal,  just block the pain which in some cases can do more damage to the tissue.

[delcecchi]

Cortisone reduces inflammation and pain.  It doesn't fix anything, unless it will heal on its own.  

 

It will be interesting to see if this platelet or stem cell stuff actually does some good in the long term.  

[slammer]

I will keep you posted.  One very large medical institution in now starting to advertise this.  Many amateur and pro athletes have been doing this for awhile.

[delcecchi]

Yeah, I saw it on Mayo Sports Medicine page....

[Mike89]

thanks for all the info, St. cloud is only 75 miles from here so not bad.  wonder how the VA thinks about this.  hope it goes good for you.

[slammer]

If anyone is having joint pain I would really look into this before surgery.  I just found out about it this summer.  Did quite a bit of research before a decision.  So far things are going good.  Start phys. therapy on Thurs.

 

I should add the hardest part of it all was getting my clinic to send a copy of my MRI to St. Cloud.  It took 6 weeks to get there.  Healthcare needs some serious help.

[DrJuice1980]

Did it work for more than a few months before it all got flushed out due to inflammation and swelling from the constant friction created inside joint making it impossible to heal?

[slammer]

Feels a whole lot better as of today.  I would say I'm at about 90%.  Going in for one more shot in a couple weeks.  Recent MRI has shown great progress.

[DrJuice1980]

Good deal, keep your chest seperated by engaging your scaps. Open things up.