Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) Injections, Treatment & Therapy
Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) therapy is also known as Autologous Conditioned Plasma.
PRP takes advantage of your blood’s natural healing properties to repair damaged cartilage, tendons, ligaments, muscle and bone. It can reduce pain, improve joint function and help you return quickly to normal activities.
PRP Injections are effective in many areas of the body, limbs and joints such as the shoulder, knee, hip, back and spine, leg, foot, arm, elbow, toes, fingers, hand, thumb and neck.
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Mr. Ali Noorani explains PRP therapy
Watch Mr. Ali Noorani, our upper limb orthopaedic specialist, explain the uses of PRP.
Mr. Ali Noorani says:
PRP stands for platelet-rich plasma. Even that probably does not make sense to most patients, so just to explain it is we take the patient’s own blood and then he put it through a process which is called centrifuge. When we spin the blood around it nicely separates the blood into different components, so you have the red cells, the white cells and the platelets and plasma which has different grades to it.
As you know I am an upper limb surgeon I mainly operate on shoulders and elbows. I also tend to use PRP injections it in shoulders and the elbows. In the elbow the biggest place to use it is in the outside of the elbow for tennis elbow also known as lateral epicondylitis or natural epicondylitis tendinopathy, but layman’s term is tennis elbow. It is one of the commonest uses of PRP because we know that literature has showed the steroids that are currently used are not as effective. In fact, there is evidence out there that suggests steroids in most cases only have a short-term effect. Beyond that the problem comes back and occasionally comes back worse.
We are designed in such a way that when we injure ourselves, we heal. So, something quite simple like for example tennis elbow in fact at a microscopic level is an injury to your tendons on the outside of the elbow. Now we know that given enough time and good physiotherapy on top can solve most of the problems. However, there are people that still, despite time and good therapy, do not heal. So, what PRP does and what we call a group of substances called biologics does is enhance the healing and makes it faster.
The way PRP injections work is that we take your own blood, concentrate the growth factors and other substances within those cells that promote healing. We then inject it in an area which are low in growth factors and needs more to allow it to use those growth factors and then hea
Conditions and injuries treated with PRP
Arthritis (osteoarthritis)
Back Pain
The PRP therapy procedure
The procedure is performed in our out-patient clinic and can take up to an hour to complete. The 3 main steps of the procedure are outlined below:
- Blood sample is drawn from a vein in your arm
- Your sample is spun in a centrifuge machine which separates the desired components
- The concentration of platelets is injected into your treatment site
The treatment is generally administered at three weekly intervals. Since the treatment is prepared from your own blood, the treatment carries a low risk.
The number of injections required depends on the injury but can range from two to six injections which are performed at weekly intervals.
PRP technology - Endoret® prgf®
Endoret® (prgf®) technology is the most advanced autologous PRP system. It is based on the activation of your own platelets for the stimulation and acceleration of tissue healing and regeneration. It is scientifically effective and safe, with over one hundred scientific articles published in specialised journals and its presentation at hundreds of congresses.
The science behind PRP therapy
PRP supports your body’s self-healing processes by using your own cells. Blood is mostly liquid (called plasma) but also contains solid component including red cells, white cells and platelets. The platelets are important for clotting blood but they also contain proteins called growth factors which are important in the healing of injuries.
With a higher concentration of growth factors than typically found in blood, PRP injections support the restoration of injured tissue and inhibit painful inflammatory processes.
This treatment is widely researched and supported in clinical papers. See our PRP evidence section.
Tom Court PRP therapy journey
Tendon/Ligament/Sports Injury
Tom Court recently underwent PRP Therapy to aid in recovery of his right Knee. Tom says:
“My knee is feeling great. Training on it after PRP has been good. The pain in the front of the knee is getting less very quickly now.”
FAQ's
The first step is to contact our enquiry team by calling us or completing a contact form on our website. Once you have had your consultation, our specialist will recommend treatment which may include PRP, nSTRIDE, Monocytes, pain-relieving injections or AMPP® therapy.
For more information or to book an appointment with one of our consultants, please call 0330 2233332.