Dodson couldn’t play ball with his son with out his rotator cuff giving him constant, severe pain. He couldn’t sleep at night and was worried about moving into the wrong position, which could increase the pain. His shoulder also popped when he moved and he couldn’t use it to pull himself up, like on a ladder.

This is pretty common when it comes to shoulder pain. Dodoson sought treatment and was given the option of surgery and also offered an option for PRP treatments. He went for the PRP treatments.

Dodson did understand that PRP treatment was experimental, but he felt like his choice was obvious. He went for the treatments and hasn’t regretted it. He no longer worries about chronic pain and can sleep at night.

For Kyle Koontz, who was taking cortisone shots and oral steroids, opted for the PRP therapy to treat his tennis elbow.

Do Stem Cells and PRP Therapy Give Positive Results?

Without a doubt, I’ve seen some positive results. There’s a fair amount of variability out there, but I think there can very much be positive results, and I would be optimistic about it.

We need more information as to really the best cell type, and that may vary for different anatomic areas. Do you treat a shoulder differently than you would an elbow? There are a lot of variables we don’t understand.

In the end, both stem cell and PRP treatments are being used frequently with great effectiveness. They’re safe but we do need to carefully study those patients in whom we use this and really look at what we’re putting into the patients so that we can truly understand what is effective, what is not, what parts are effective, to really start to have a more refined understanding of this whole area.

Questions, no surprise, remain.

Is there nothing PRP can’t do? Is PRP a glimpse into the future of sport’s medicine? Is it the golden standard for tendonitis? Is it ethical?

This collection of articles on PRP will answer those questions and more so you can make an informed decision if you are considering PRP therapy for your injury.

Platelet-Rich Plasma: A General Look

From academic studies to academic overviews, this collection of articles will give you a broad view of PRP therapy from a scientific standpoint.

PRP & Platelet Gel (PG): A Review

This review addresses a variety of aspects pertaining to the use of PG. These include background on platelet activity, the pivotal role of platelets in hemostasis, soft tissue healing and bone growth, the whole blood PRP production procedure, Platelet rich plasma and platelet gel.

Are All Platelet Rich Plasma Treatments the Same?

We have to be careful when talking about PRP because one treatment is not the same as another treatment. Procedures differ from doctor to doctor.

Platelet-rich Plasma: Current Concepts and Application in Sports Medicine

Platelet-rich plasma is defined as autologous blood with a concentration of platelets above baseline values. Platelet-rich plasma has been used in maxillofacial and plastic surgery since the 1990s; its use in sports medicine is growing given its potential to enhance muscle and tendon healing.

3 Studies Look at the Effectiveness of Platelet-Rich Plasma Therapy

Just because PRP therapy works for tennis elbow doesn’t mean it will perform in the same way to an injury to the Achilles tendon. What we need are more nuanced studies looking at particular injuries, PRP treatment and recovery over the long haul. Those studies are starting to appear.

Anterior Cruciate Ligament Grafts with and without Autologous Platelet-derived Growth Factors

In sports medicine the time to recover from an ACL injury is often very long for the athlete. Thus methods have been sought to shorten the biological time required for the graft to acquire biomechanical properties similar to the original ACL. Enter PRP therapy.

New Treatment Offers Glimpse into Medicine’s Future

Doctors at The Orthopaedic Center (TOC) in Huntsville, Alabama have begun using Platelet-Rich Plasma on patients trying to heal soft-tissue injuries while avoiding the rigors of surgery.

Platelet-Rich Plasma Therapy and Sports Medicine

The use of PRP therapy has grown from use with injured animals like horses to the use in speeding the recovery of athletes from sports injuries. Here are the most common topics on this aspect of PRP therapy.

PRP Science Daily Treatment and its Use in Sports Medicine

According to a new study in the October issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (JAAOS), early outcomes of PRP appear promising. However, larger clinical studies are still needed to determine the benefits of its use.

Could Platelet-Rich Plasma Therapy Heal Your Sports Injury?

When Tiger Woods admitted during a long press conference that he received an experimental medical treatment to combat a sore knee, platelet rich plasma therapy finally got the attention it deserved. And since then, PRP therapy has gained a following. The question still remains: Is it effective?

Can Platelet-Rich Plasma Therapy Heal Bone Fractures?

If you play sports, then you are at risk for a bone fracture, which is unfortunate because this sports injury could sideline you for an entire season. Is there any way you can speed up the process and get back on the playing field sooner? Platelet-rich plasma therapy might hold the key.

Platelet Rich Plasma Therapy Gold Standard for Tendonitis Treatment?

It is quite possible that in the future PRP injections will become the gold standard treatment for tendonitis. This is especially true to those patients who fail to respond to conventional treatments like physical therapy and anti-inflammatory medications. In fact, PRP therapy may save an athlete from the rigors of surgery and the lost time involved with recovery.

Could Platelet-Rich Plasma Therapy Heal Your Chronic Hamstring Injury?

In some cases extended rest will lead to a full recovery. But often times all other therapies fail and the injury is simply resistant to a full recovery. Only once you’ve exhausted all other therapy options should you then consider platelet-rich plasma injections.

Spinning Blood Isn’t Just for Athletes

Wall Street journal article by Melinda Beck on Golfer Tiger Woods and Kenyon Martin of the Denver Nuggets who both were treated with platelet-rich plasma.

Knee Arthritis and Platelet-Rich Plasma Injections

A PRP study published in late 2009 from the Rizzoli Orthopedic Institute in Bologna, Italy, found platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injected in knees with degenerative arthritis can improve knee function.

What You Should Know about Post-Traumatic Arthritis

Millions of people around the world suffer from the severity of post-traumatic arthritis. Symptoms include swelling, joint instability, tenderness, severe pain, and sometimes, internal bleeding.

The Procedure Behind Platelet-Rich Plasma Therapy

If you want to know exactly what happens during a PRP therapy session, check out these three resources.

The 5-Steps Behind Platelet-Rich Plasma Injections

If you’ve been reading my posts for long you’ve no doubt heard me talk about PRP therapy and it’s relation to sports medicine. One thing I’ve never done, however, is explain the steps behind an actual procedure. I want to take that time right now to do that.

Steps In Making & Using PRP In Arthroscopies [Video 1]

Short video that breaks the procedure down. Part one of two part series.

Steps In Making & Using PRP In Arthroscopies [Video 2]

Short video that breaks the procedure down. Part two of two part series.

Platelet-Rich Plasma Therapy and Controversy

Part of the popularity of PRP therapy lies in the surrounding controversy. What kind of controversy? The following four articles will help you understand.

Is Platelet-Rich Plasma Injections Just a Fad?

The controversy centers on the lack of systematic studies on a treatment that continues to rise in use and application. That popularity is fed by what’s called the Orthopedic Triad: a famous athlete treated by a famous doctor with a suspect treatment.

Is Platelet-Rich Plasma Therapy Blood Doping?

Anytime a new treatment is used–and it’s extremely successful–people are suspicious and want to know if it’s legal. In fact, one of the most asked questions that I receive is this: “Is platelet rich plasma blood doping?” The short answer is no, it’s not blood doping. Let me explain.

Is Platelet-Rich Plasma Therapy Ethical If It’s Experimental?

You don’t need to look very far to find a mountain of good data on the positive effects of platelet-rich plasma [PRP] therapy on animals. The studies and the science is there. Human data, on the other hand, is more limited.

What Are the Side-Effects of Platelet-Rich Plasma Therapy?

you have to understand this: PRP therapy is not a silver bullet. There can be side effects, and some significant. Here are the most common.

Dr. Rick Lehman is a distinguished orthopedic surgeon in St. Louis, Missouri and an articular cartilage reconstruction pioneer. He owns U. S. Sports Medicine in Kirkwood, MO, and LehmanHealth. Learn more about Dr. Rick.

The controversy centers on the lack of systematic studies on a treatment that continues to rise in use and application. That popularity is fed by what’s called the Orthopedic Triad: a famous athlete treated by a famous doctor with a suspect treatment.

The famous athlete in this case is Tiger Woods. His doctor gave him an injection and within a day Tiger claimed to be able to jump up on his kitchen table.

Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward–who sprained a ligament–is another famous athlete with a claim to a successful PRP treatment, namely that he was to play a pivotal role in helping the Steelers win the Super Bowl after his injury.

His teammate Troy Palamalou–who strained his calf–underwent the same treatment and played on with a superior level of performance in the same Super Bowl.

LA Dodgers pitcher Takashi Saito said PRP injections let the pitcher avoid surgery, which would have put him out of commission for about a year.

From the Elite Professional to the Average Person

The list of celebrity anecdotal evidence is long. And this is having an incredible impact on just about everybody, not just professional athletes.

Seniors who want to get their swagger back on the golf green, the amateur tennis pro and the Miami construction worker. They all suffer from an injury–tennis elbow, knee ligament pain–and want a cure for it.

The problem is in the lack of systematic, large-scale studies on the proven effectiveness of PRP injections. Those studies are in progress, but it will be awhile before results are available.

What makes a conclusive answer about the effectiveness of plasma injections difficult to get has to do with the variety of treatments. Not all PRP treatments are the same.

In fact, one particular treatment and it’s methodology have been proven as effective as an injection of saline, but those results are quarantined to a particular treatment method. The general public isn’t sure which one, making it easier for PRP injection vendors to sweep aside objections by saying, “Well, that’s a different treatment. There is no downside.”

Why You Should Always Proceed with Caution

One of the factors to the treatments success is it’s intuitive appeal. For whatever reason it just makes sense that by drawing oyur own blood, spinning it into a concentrate of growth factors and then injecting that serum into the injured area couldn’t hurt. Indeed, it’s pretty much agreed upon that it couldn’t hurt. But could it help?

I think yes. I’ve seen too many positive outcomes after PRP injections. However, I agree that without the conclusive , systematic cohort studies we should proceed with caution. I do not like seeing this treatment rise to the sort of fame it has. The hype is outdistancing sports medicine, which is why I always recommend that if you are considering PRP injections, make sure you’veexhausted all other opportunities. Only when you’ve done that should you consult your doctor.

Dr. Rick Lehman is a distinguished orthopedic surgeon in St. Louis, Missouri and an articular cartilage reconstruction pioneer He owns U. S. Sports Medicine in Kirkwood, MO, and LehmanHealth. Learn more about Dr. Rick.

But PRP injections are also proving effective treatments for those who suffer from knee arthritis and other non-sports related injuries.

If you’ve been reading my posts for long you’ve no doubt heard me talk about PRP therapy and it’s relation to sports medicine. One thing I’ve never done, however, is explain the steps behind an actual procedure. I want to take that time right now to do that.

Step One: Consultation

The very first thing I do with the patient is consult with them. We talk about the injury, the cause, the level of pain, the history. I want as much information as I possibly can.

As a side note: Usually at this stage I discover that this is a last-ditch effort for the patient. They’ve exhausted all other approaches and want to avoid surgery. See my final thoughts to see why this important.

Step Two: Draw Blood

Next we draw blood from the patient. Usually about 20 to 60 ccs.

Step Three: Spin the Blood

We then take that blood and put it into a centrifuge. That centrifuge spins the blood, separating it into three different layers: the platelet-poor layer, the buffy coat (which contains the platelets and white blood cells) and the red blood cells. It’s that middle layer that will be injected.

Step Four: Anesthetize the Injury Area

While the blood is being spun, our next step is to clean the sight and numb the area around the joint.

Step Five: Inject the Plasma

The final step consists of actually injecting the plasma into the injured area. We use an ultra sound machine to guide the needle to make sure we are injecting the fluid in the appropriate place.

The entire procedure takes less than 15 minutes. It’s an in-office visit and patients can usually drive themselves to and from our clinic.

Is PRP Therapy Safe?

Yes, little evidence exists to definitely prove that plasma injections can have a positive impact on healing, but in my own work and many of my colleagues I’ve seen tremendous outcomes.

Patients with six-week old injuries recover more rapidly as do patients who’ve been suffering from a decade old injury. Age of injury or patient doesn’t matter.

It is important that you explore all of your alternatives first because most insurance companies will not cover this procedure. However, if you’ve exhausted all of your options and the next step is surgery, investigating whether plasma injections are right for you is a good thing to do before surgery.

Dr. Rick Lehman is a distinguished orthopedic surgeon in St. Louis, Missouri and an articular cartilage reconstruction pioneer He owns U. S. Sports Medicine in Kirkwood, MO, and LehmanHealth. Learn more about Dr. Rick.

Unfortunately what we think is obvious on paper doesn’t always play out in the practical world. There is no doubt about it, though: I’ve seen hamstring injuries or tennis elbow injuries respond positively to PRP treatments. It wouldn’t be a stretch to think of PRP therapy as the golden treatment for tendinitis.

But just because PRP therapy works for tennis elbow doesn’t mean it will perform in the same way to an injury to the achilles tendon. What we need are more nuanced studies looking at particular injuries, PRP treatment and recovery over the long haul.

Those studies are starting to appear.

Platelet Injections Study on Achilles’ Tendon Injury

In the Jan 13, 2010 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association one of the most rigorous studies of platelet injections reported that saltwater was found to be as effective as PRP injections. The study looked at people with Achilles’ tendons injuries.

There are still no good treatments for those who suffer from this injury. And unfortunately this injury is one of the toughest to treat. A year after the injury fewer than half of the patients are pain-free.

But this doesn’t mean we should write off platelet-rich plasma injection. As I said in a previous post, injections typically have different effects on different injures and different techniques can improve the effectiveness of an injection.

Platelet Injections Studies and Tennis Elbow

Another study published in The American Journal of Sports Medicine in February of 2010 reported that the injections did help tennis elbow. However, some argue that this study had a design flaw that casts suspicion on the results.

Currently, Dr. Allan K. Mishra is involved on a “prospective, double-blind, randomized trial of 230 patients with lateral epicondylar tendinopathy under the direction of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.” (“Lateral epicondytar tendiopaty” is long for “tennis elbow.”)

At the end of 2010 he finished enrolling patients. Dr. Misha said, “This study of PRP versus a saline control will provide some evidence of its value in treating that particular problem at that particular stage.” I’ll give you a report on this study as it comes in.

Keep in mind just because PRP works in tennis elbow doesn’t necessarily mean it will work in acute muscle injury; they are just dramatically different problems.

Why Don’t We Have Better PRP Studies?

So, is it safe to treat patients with PRP therapy if we can’t say to them this is going to work for certain? In other words, is PRP therapy ethical sports medicine?

Well, I think, first of all, it’s ethical if you explain exactly what the technology is, what you’re doing, what the expectations are, and you’re very, very honest with the information that’s out there.

So yes, I think it’s ethical.

Until we understand the the most fundamental things about the causes of tendinopathy, we will always be a bit behind in treating. Until then, I think PRP treatment is a viable option for anyone who has exhausted all other methods and wishes to avoid surgery.

Dr. Rick Lehman is a distinguished orthopedic surgeon in St. Louis, Missouri and an articular cartilage reconstruction pioneer He owns U. S. Sports Medicine in Kirkwood, MO, and LehmanHealth. Learn more about Dr. Rick.

For every muscle, tendon or ligament, we first must understand the injury and healing cycling of that particular body part. Our goal is to lower the chances of side effects from platelet-rich plasma therapy and maximize the healing of the injury. A firm understanding of each pathology is a must.

Ways that PRP Treatments Differ

In other words, not every PRP treatment is the same. On a very basic level there are liquid forms and gel forms. For example, for repair to rotator cuffs and ACL reconstruction a platelet-rich fibrin matrix is being used.

In more complex ways, some treatments contain white or red blood cells. Others add calcium cholride or thombrin. The reason this is important is that when we are talking about the outcomes of PRP treatment, we need to make sure we are talking about similar comparisons.

We have to talk about the same type of PRP treatments. When one PRP procedure is shown to fail, that doesn’t mean that all procedures are failures.

Unfortunately, in a lot of the literature from both professional and lay journals and reports discuss PRP treatments as if they are all uniform. That’s just not the case. PRP Treatment and recovery from knee arthritis is going to be different than a hamstring injury therapy.

Furthermore, when we talk about PRP therapy, we need to talk about three issues: is there white blood cells present? What’s the concentration of platelets over the baseline? And what’s the need to activate it prior to using it?

Most people are asking questions like “Does it work?” “Where does it work?” and “When should we use it?” It’s my conviction that these are not the right questions we should be asking.

Instead, we need to explore and study the current preparations and the method in which they are applied. There is no doubt that there is a lot of work that needs to be done.

PRP Treatment and Recovery Differs Among Injuries

What you’ll find is that specific PRP therapies work better for specific situations. Think about it this way: what works for acute muscle injuries may be very different from the one that works for chronic tendinitis. They are very different injuries and conditions. Meticulous classification of each therapy needs to happen. Until that happens, we have singular evidence coming from individuals but no cohort studies.

The reason that there is so much interest in platelet-rich plasma therapy is that the factors used are all in our bodies. It makes sense if you think about it like speeding up the natural healing response of our own bodies. Still, PRP therapy should be of interest to people who have exhausted all other approaches and want to avoid surgery.

Dr. Rick Lehman is a distinguished orthopedic surgeon in St. Louis, Missouri and an articular cartilage reconstruction pioneer He owns U. S. Sports Medicine in Kirkwood, MO, and LehmanHealth. Learn more about Dr. Rick.

Short Guide to Bones

Bones make up the skeleton in your body and serve multiple functions.

• Bones support your body against the affects of gravity and allow you to move and function in the world.
• Bones like your ribs protect internal body parts.
• The marrow in your bones is an important center for the production of blood products.

And I bet you never thought about your bones as being an organ, have you? They are. Bones carry a store of calcium for your body and, because of the influence of hormones, are always undergoing change.

The hormone parathyroid increases blood calcium levels by leeching calcium from bone. The hormone calcitonin has the opposite effect–it draws calcium from the blood.

Causes of a Fracture

Bones may be a solid organ, but that doesn’t mean they’re invincible.

Any time force is applied to a bone there is a potential for the bone to break. A fracture, break or crack (they all three mean the same thing) occurs when the bone cannot withstand that force.

As with any contact sport, fractures have a long history in sports medicine. Let’s look at a few common types.

Stress Fracture

Some fractures occur from overuse. These are commonly called stress fractures.

Shin splints are a common stress fracture that runners deal with. Gymnasts can also suffer from stress fractures in their feet and ankle. When a stress fracture affects the long bones of the foot it’s called a a “march fracture,” named after injuries soldiers typically suffer from repeated, long marches.

It’s the repeated pressure and micro-trauma that a bone fails to absorb that weakens the bone and eventually creates a stress fracture.

Compression Fracture

When people get older there’s the risk of developing osteoporosis, which is a condition where bones lose their calcium content. This makes bones more prone to fracturing.

Often the spine suffers a compression fracture, most notably the lumbar or thoracic spine. This occurs because we are always upright and the back eventually cannot withstand the force of gravity and so the bones start to crumble.

Rib Fracture

Ribs are bones that are designed to protect your internal organs. They are also liable to be injured when struck by a direct blow. Football players suffer from rib injuries as opponents lower their head and tackle head on.

X-rays are rarely taken when there is a rib injury since the treatment amounts to the same time. A chest x-ray might be taken to make sure that no injury has been done to a lung.

Skull Fractures

Breaks to the skull, which is the bone that protects your brain, can occur by direct blows or falls.

Can Platelet-Rich Plasma Therapy Heal Your Bone Fracture?

Doctors have been using PRP therapy to aid the healing of bones after spinal injury and soft tissue recovery following plastic surgery since the mid 90s.

Wasn’t long before researchers started testing PRP therapy on sports injuries. Studies typically involved rats, and as concerns of human safety were overcome, doctors started applying it to humans.

Results have been very positive in terms of tendon-healing effects. Researchers are now working on human studies.

Eventually this type of therapy took off when pro athletes like Tiger Woods gave PRP a popularity boost. One study demonstrated that PRP was more effective at healing tennis elbow than the current treatment of corticosteroid, a class of steroid hormones to regulate inflammation induced by diseases and injuries.

Other PRP studies demonstrated varying degrees of success in speeding up the healing process of injuries like muscle tears, osteoarthritis, tendinosis, plantar faciitis and knee ligament injuries. The same is true for fractures.

Dr. Rick Lehman is a distinguished orthopedic surgeon in St. Louis, Missouri and an articular cartilage reconstruction pioneer He owns U. S. Sports Medicine in Kirkwood, MO, and LehmanHealth. Learn more about Dr. Rick.

After a severe injury such as a fracture or dislocation, post-traumatic arthritis develops. That injury can be in the hands or feet, shoulders or knee.

Typically the arthritis sets in directly after a major surgery or even a minor surgery, like to the hand. When this type of arthritis develops it’s considered a form of osteoarthritis.

For older patients, post-traumatic arthritis is found in the hip and hip joint region. This is especially true for hip replacement patients who suffer from a series of identical symptoms as post-traumatic arthritis.

The reason this happens is that hip surgery does not correct arthritis. Once cartilage is damaged, it can not be repaired unless it is replaced completely.

When there is too much pressure on the hips, the cartilage may bruise. This bruising in turns damages the cartilage. Unfortunately there are no surface clues of this damage. What has to happen is that the entire damaged cartilage has to be removed from the joint. If not, the patient will continue to suffer severe joint and hip pain.

Causes of Post-Traumatic Arthritis

Car accidents are one of the most common ways that people suffer from post-traumatic arthritis. For example, someone who’s been in a motorcycle accident in which their shoulder was broken may eventually suffer post-traumatic arthritis.

This is also true for many professional sports athletes who suffer from arthritis pain symptoms even before they retire due to multiple sports injuries. The damaged cartilage in the athletes body acts like glass against the bones.

In addition, an injury to a joint can affect how it operates, whether or not the articular cartilage was affected. This occurs when bones may not heal the way they were originally intended to heal. This then distorts how the joint works, moves and the puts additional pressure on the auricular cartilage.

Over time this mis-alignment will wear out the joint faster. This arthritis will progressively get worse over time, and if you continue to be suffer, you should see your physician for more definitive treatment.

Treatment of Post-Traumatic Arthritis

The only way to really alleviate the pain associated with this type of arthritis is to have an MRI so a doctor can look for cartilage floating in your joints. Then consult a orthopedic doctor to discuss treatment options.

Platelet-rich plasma treatment on knee arthritis is also finding success.

By the way, it’s not an old wives’ tale that a stiff and achy joint can predict changes in the weather. It’s in fact true. Due to the barometric changes inside you joint you will be very good at predicting the weather. Whether that’s a benefit is an entirely different story.

Dr. Rick Lehman is a distinguished orthopedic surgeon in St. Louis, Missouri and an articular cartilage reconstruction pioneer He owns U. S. Sports Medicine in Kirkwood, MO, and LehmanHealth. Learn more about Dr. Rick.

And you want relief. Maybe you’re at the end of your rope or just now starting to learn more about your condition and how to repair it.

Arthritis in the knee is usually a result of high-impact sports and repetitive actions like gymnastics or running. Up until now the way to treat arthritis in the knee involved nonsurgical therapies, drugs and surgery.

Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections where a patient’s blood is spun into a concentrated plasma are proving to be effective treatments (after all other methods have been tried in some circumstances), which doesn’t involve surgery and a protracted recovery time.

Let’s review these options before we talk about PRP therapy.

Nonsurgical Treatment

If you have osteoarthritis of the knee, you can take advantage of a wide range of treatment nonsurgical options.

●     Lifestyle modification like losing weight and minimizing the high-impact activities that cause you pain in your knees.

●     Exercise improves your strength, flexibility and range of motion.

●     Supportive devices like knee braces, canes and cushioned shoes.

Different people respond to different modifications so experiment until you find one that works for you.

Drug Treatments

Several types of drugs can be used in treating arthritis of the knee.

●     Corticosteroids are powerful anti-inflammatory agents that can be injected into the joint.

●     Viscosupplementation is where the quality of the joint is improved by injecting it with substances.

●     Gold salt injection can sometimes be use to treat rheumatoid arthritis.

Again, not every patient will respond the same to these treatments. Not all people to medications in the same way. Your orthopaedic surgeon can provide a specific regiment of drug treatments.

Surgical Options

Surgery on your arthritic knee should be a last-resort option–after you’ve exhausted all other options. Here are a few surgical treatments:

●     Arthroscopic surgery uses fiber optics so the surgeon can see inside the joint and clean any debris or restore damage cartilage.

●     An osteotomy cuts the thigh or shin bone to improve the alignment of the knee joint.

●     Knee arthroplasty–whether total or partial–replaces the knee joint cartilage with metal and plastic.

●     Cartilage grafting is possible for knees where limited cartilage loss from trauma or arthritis.

Platelet-Rich Plasma Option

A PRP study published in late 2009 from the Rizzoli Orthopedic Institute in Bologna, Italy, found platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injected in knees with degenerative arthritis can improve knee function.

The results showed consistent improvement up to 6 months after PRP therapy, which makes it a promising, nonsurgical treatment. But PRP therapy is not a sports medicine silver bullet. There can be side effects, and some significant side effects. Here are the most common.

To learn more about PRP treatments for your arthritic knee give us a call or visit our office in St. Louis. We look forward to hearing from you.