PRP: Platelet Rich Plasma Therapy

A Safe, Natural Approach to Rapid Recovery from Orthopedic Injuries, Surgery

If you’ve come across news or heard talk at the gym about a new treatment  that is credited with inducing rapid recoveries from orthopedic injuries and surgeries, most likely it was about platelet-rich plasma therapy or PRP.

PRP is a holistic approach to speed the regeneration and healing of ligament, tendon and muscular injuries, reducing recovery time. PRP is an innovation from the expanding field of medicine known as orthobiologics, which is developing new techniques that combine stem cells and other advanced medical technologies with the body’s natural healing ability to repair orthopedic injuries.

Used since the 1990s to assist with the healing of spinal injuries and to facilitate recovery after plastic surgery, PRP garnered international attention when it was reported that Troy Polamalu and Hines Ward of the Pittsburgh Steelers received PRP prior to the 2009 Super Bowl. PRP was also used by Tiger Woods while he rehabilitated from microfracture surgery in 2008.

Craig Levitz, M.D., chair of orthopedics at South Nassau Hospital, along with other South Nassau sports medicine specialists, is among the few orthopedists on Long Island to offer PRP. "Regardless of the cause of the injury, PRP has demonstrated that it can be an effective nonsurgical option to repair cartilage, ligament and tendon tears and to accelerate healing after surgery" said Dr. Levitz.

Platelet-rich plasma is blood plasma with a high concentration of platelets with proteins, which is vital to the regeneration of soft tissue. It is extracted by drawing a small amount of the patient’s blood into a test tube, which is then put into a centrifuge (lab equipment that separates the blood into layers).  

The plasma and platelets are taken from the test tube, put in a syringe and then injected into the patient’s injured or surgically-repaired area. The bioactive proteins activate tissue recovery, new blood vessel formation, bone regeneration and connective tissue repair. PRP is safe, because the sample of platelet-rich plasma is taken from the patient’s own blood.

For more information about South Nassau’s orthopedic services, call 1-866-32-ORTHO.