Athletes are often faced with incredibly difficult choices when it comes to their profession or pastime. Too often they are faced with the decision of whether or not to play it safe with injuries, giving them ample time to completely heal, meaning sitting out a significant portion of the season. Injuries have a tendency to heal superficially, able to cope with stress up to a certain point, after which the stress can re-tear the ligament, tendon, or muscle, forcing the healing stage to start over.
Dr. Roshni Patel at the Center of Excellence in Pain and Regenerative Medicine in Farmington, CT, has years of expertise in administering platelet-rich plasma therapy (PRP) for musculoskeletal injuries. This form of regenerative medicine can be used to effectively treat injuries from head-to-toe. At CEPRM, we realized that this is the perfect opportunity for athletes to get the injury treatment they truly need! While sports have largely been put on hold, what a perfect time to get PRP therapy and correct your injury at its source!
Typical Athletic Injuries
According to the National Institute of Health, the most common sports injuries in order of prevalence are:
- Muscle sprains and strains
- Knee injuries
- Achilles tendon injuries
All of these injuries require a dedicated effort to heal properly. Knees and Achille’s tendons are notorious for healing partially and causing secondary injuries as the patient attempts to return to full activity too soon!
If there is one benefit to most organized sports being put on hold due to COVID-19, it’s that athletes of all calibers have an incredibly rare opportunity to seek injury treatment and allow new or persistent injuries sufficient opportunity to heal. Instead of allowing injuries to persist due to insufficient treatment, take this time to do the right thing and seek out comprehensive, thorough treatment like PRP therapy.
Treating Athletic Injuries With PRP
Platelet-rich plasma is a derivative of the blood in your body. A sample is taken, at which point the red and white blood cells are separated from the plasma, which has become concentrated with platelets that are the cellular foundation necessary to regrowth and repair. The platelets are rich in growth factors that greatly aid in the injury healing process.
Once the PRP sample has been concentrated and prepared, it’s as simple as injecting the PRP into the injury site. Once introduced to the muscle, joint, or tendon, the platelets initiate the body’s own natural healing process. This allows injuries to continue to heal with each recurrent injection.
PRP has taken the concept that our bodies use to self-heal and has amplified the results. The growth factors are present in your bloodstream, this procedure simply collects and concentrates these regenerative cells and delivers them directly where they are needed most, making the healing process incredibly efficient for injury patients.
Benefits of PRP for Athletic Injuries
Platelet-rich plasma therapy is gaining serious attention for its incredible regenerative properties. When compared to other injury therapy options, PRP has benefits that are hard to ignore, some of the most noteworthy are as follows:
Efficient and effective: Many recent studies have confirmed the incredible efficacy of PRP at treating muscle injuries as well as chronic knee damage like Osteoarthritis
Minimally Invasive: The procedure usually takes no more than 30 minutes and only requires one needle for extraction and another needle for injection.
More Affordable: When compared to other methods of therapy, PRP is a very affordable option with the potential for better results.
No Additional Downtime: PRP doesn’t leave you incapacitated or require any additional downtime. You simply come in for your sessions and are free to go about the rest of your day. Obviously, you will still need to care for your injury as you normally would, but there is no recovery like there is post-surgery
Avoid Surgery: While there is a time and place for surgery, our goal at CEPRM is to help our patients avoid surgery. Not only does it have its own inherent risks, but it can also be incredibly expensive, time-consuming, and requires weeks to months of additional recovery.
The Perfect Opportunity for Injury Repair
If you have recently suffered an injury or are struggling with a persistent injury, reach out to the specialists at the Center of Excellence in Pain and Regenerative Medicine in Farmington, CT. You can consult with Dr. Roshni Patel on your injury and create a detailed plan for regenerative PRP therapy to restore your proper function and quality of life! Call or book an appointment online today to take the first step towards being injury-free!
