Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP)

What is Platelet Rich Plasma?
Blood contains red blood cells, white blood cells and platelet cells, all suspended in a liquid called plasma. Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) simply refers to blood with a high concentration of platelets.

Why seek more platelets?
Platelets are important because they help initiate a healing response. In the event of an injury or tissue damage, the body naturally directs platelets to the injured area to initiate a healing response. Injecting a concentrated platelet solution not only mimics the natural healing process, but also enhances it, speeding recovery.

How do platelets improve healing?
Platelets contain so-called growth factors. These growth factors are thought to be the key components that enable healing. In particular, they have been proven to stimulate stem cell growth and proliferation. Stem cells being “blank cells,” they can transform into the specialized cells needed to repair an injury site, providing the raw material or “glue” used for tissue regeneration.

To put it all together, PRP is by definition very rich in platelets, translating into more growth factors, in turn stimulating and increasing the number of stem cells, resulting in faster repair and more efficient recovery.

PRP is our intermediate-level offering. It is a little more involved than our entry-level Prolotherapy service, but is still simple. It can also be done quickly and very safely, but is a little more costly. In return, it enhances the results: in addition to just triggering the body’s natural healing mechanism, mostly achieving pain reduction, it also turbo-charges it, addressing the cause of the problem by helping regenerate tissue.

What conditions respond well to PRP?
Since PRP works by helping with generating tissue, any condition that can benefits from tissue repair is a potential candidate. For example:
  • Wounds
  • Osteoarthritis
  • Rheumatism
  • Hip dysplasia
  • Elbow dysplasia
  • Muscle tears
  • Tendonitis
  • Ligament sprains or tears
  • Bursitis
  • Face, skin and collagen regeneration
  • Hairloss, baldness
What Happens During PRP treatment?
The first step is to draw a little of your blood. The blood is then separated into its red blood cell, white blood cell, plasma, and platelet components using a centrifuge mechanism. Our dedicated laboratory employs certified personnel and uses the top equipment approved by the FDA for treatments. This ensures that the platelets are carefully concentrated under strict guidelines for sterility and quality control.

Once the PRP solution is ready, you are placed under a local anesthesia and the PRP is injected into the target area(s). A single injection can thus be administered. However, multiple injections, sometimes 10-15 different ones, can greatly benefit you by covering the entire area in need of healing. The number and placement of the individual injections depends on the severity and duration of your injury.

This procedure can be confined to a single session, but in most serious injuries, we find that it is best to repeat it 3-6 times, at approximately 4-week intervals. To that end, we offer packages when appropriate.

A follow-up visit is scheduled approximately two weeks after the initial treatment. At that time, the physician will conduct an evaluation and suggest or refine any decision regarding the need for additional treatments. A single PRP treatment seems to provide results for most people for a period of a few months. In acute or chronic injuries however, repeated treatment is most effective and lasting. Injections are extremely safe and can be combined with other treatments, medications and supplements if desired.

What should I expect after PRP treatment?
For most people, the procedure only takes an hour or two and you can both come home or go back to the office immediately after. Once the numbing effects of anesthesia subside, you will experience some soreness at the site of the treatment. As with most pain, icing the injection area for 15 minutes 2-3 times a day for the first few days will help ease the pain and inflammation. Most people experience noticeable improvement within a week or two and can resume normal activity.

Are PRP injections safe?
PRP treatment is extremely safe. Research and clinical data has shown conclusively that PRP injections have practically no adverse side effects and rare minimal adverse reactions or complications. Since PRP is simply a portion of your own blood with a different concentration, there is no issue with disease transmission or immune rejection. In fact, some studies suggest that it may have antibacterial properties that actually help protect the body against infection. Indeed, as with any injection, there is a very small risk of infection, but this is rare, and minimized by our strict adherence to proper medical practices (sterile, closed environments, use of only FDA-approved equipment, etc.)

Call NuStem today to schedule your complimentary consultation at 844-4NUSTEM (844-468-7836).


Disclaimer
 
Regenerative cellular therapies such as the use of stem cells are widely studied as adjunctive therapies for many conditions, including acute injuries in the skeletal-muscular system as well as in inner organs such as the heart or the brain. Cellular therapy does not replace standard therapies as recommended by your doctor, but may serve as an addition to existing or recommended therapies.  Currently, stem cell therapy is not FDA-approved and is considered experimental.  However, numerous published studies worldwide have shown significant benefits.  Stem cell therapy might represent one of the most potent future medical therapies.  

NuStem is offering patient-funded research to provide individual patients with regenerative cellular therapy. NuStem is not involved in the use or manufacture of any investigational drugs. NuStem uses scientific protocols in a systematic manner with scheduled follow up appointments and objective measures for scientific purposes. NuStem is not offering cell therapy as a cure for any condition, disease or injury. Any decision to participate in our patient-funded experimental protocols is completely voluntary.
 

This website contains no medical advice.  No statements or implied treatments on this website have been evaluated or approved by the FDA.  All statements and opinions provided by this website are for educational and informational purposes only and no diagnoses or treatments are offered via this website or by telephone.  It’s important for potential patients to do their own research based on the options presented so that one can make an informed decision.

ATTENTION:  If you have any concern with cellular therapy, any of our services, methods, techniques, related products, marketing literature or website, or think we may be violating any U.S. law, please CONTACT US so that we can investigate the matter or concern immediately.