PRP Injections

What is PRP?

PRP, or platelet-rich plasma, is a form of regenerative medicine that harnesses and enhances your body’s natural ability to heal itself.

Plasma is the liquid component of your blood. It enables your white blood cells, red blood cells, and platelets to circulate throughout your body. Platelets, or thrombocytes, are special blood cells that promote blood clotting, support cell growth, and help to repair and heal your musculoskeletal system.

Platelet-rich plasma is plasma that Dr. Celis takes from your own body and runs through a centrifuge, which concentrates the platelets. With PRP injections, Dr. Celis injects a concentrated dose of your body’s own platelet-rich plasma into the site of your injury, which stimulates your body’s natural growth factors to aid in the recovery of your tissue. 

What conditions can you treat with PRP injections?

PRP injections stimulate your body’s natural ability to grow new and healthy cells, making the tissue in the area of the injection regenerate and heal more quickly. With PRP injections, Dr. Celis can treat a variety of conditions, including:

Tendon injuries

PRP injections can treat a variety of chronic tendon problems, including pain in the knee’s patellar tendon (jumper’s knee), Achilles tendonitis at the ankle, and tennis elbow.

Acute injuries

Dr. Celis can use PRP injections to help aid recovery in injuries like knee sprains or pulled hamstrings.

Back pain

By injecting platelet-rich plasma into damaged areas of your back that are causing you discomfort, Dr. Celis can help your body repair itself and free you from your pain.

Disc regeneration

If you have a bulging or herniated disc, an injection of platelet-rich plasma can aid your body in its recovery process. This helps to speed up the healing process and get you back to normal functioning more quickly.

Osteoarthritis

Some doctors have begun to use PRP injections as a treatment for osteoarthritis. According to a 2015 study, PRP injections were found to be more effective than hyaluronic acid injections, which is what’s traditionally used to treat osteoarthritis.

How are PRP injections administered?

First, Dr. Celis draws a sample of your blood, then puts that sample in a centrifuge. The centrifuge spins your blood sample so quickly that it causes its essential components to separate, enabling Dr. Celis to isolate and collect the platelet-rich plasma from within. 

He puts your platelet-rich plasma into a syringe, numbs your injection site with a local anesthetic, then uses an ultrasound to precisely guide the PRP injection directly into your treatment area. 

The whole process typically takes about an hour, and doesn’t require any significant downtime or recovery period. You should nonetheless rest and relax your body after your injection, since you’re still dealing with an injury. 

Because PRP injections are designed to promote your body’s natural healing ability, it might take a few weeks or months to notice the effects of your treatment. After your PRP injection has taken effect, you should experience more functionality and less pain in your treatment area.

Find relief from your pain and schedule a PRP injection with Dr. Celis today by calling the offices at California Pain Group or booking a visit online.

Has there been any research showing that PRP injections are effective?

There have been many reputable journals that publish new studies about PRP injections. Here are a few examples:

• “In patients with symptomatic knee Osteoarthritis, PRP injection results in significant clinical improvements….”

Efficacy of Intra-articular Platelet-Rich Plasma Injections in Knee Osteoarthritis: A Systematic Review. Arthroscopy. The Journal of Arthroscopic and Related Surgery; March 2016, V32, Issue 3, Pgs 495-595

• “[PRP] is safe and provides quantifiable benefits for pain relief and functional improvement with regard to knee Osteoarthritis….”

Intra-articular Autologous Conditioned Plasma Injections Provide Safe and Efficacious Treatment for Knee Osteoarthritis: An FDA-Sanctioned, Randomized, Double-blind, Placebo-controlled Clinical Trial. The American Journal of Sports Medicine, Vol 44, Issue 4, 2016

• “PRP injections have been found in the majority of recent clinical studies to be helpful for pain and function…..”

Role of PRP in the Treatment of Knee Osteoarthritis. Current Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Reports; (2016) 4: 138. doi:10.1007/s40141-016-0119-4