Tiger woods held a press conference a the Augusta Masters today to address concerns of his medical treatment among other issues that have been circling in the media. Tiger clarified that he has never used performance enhancing drugs (PED’s). However Tiger did confirm that he received 4 injections of PRP Platelet Rich Plasma to his knee ligament (LCL) following a slow post operative recovery from ACL repair. Woods also received treatment for his Achilles tendon which he tore & adversely affected his driving distance . He claims that the treatments were successful & he feels strong.
While Tiger Woods has been surrounded by disappointments of his family & fans of infidelity, it appears that he has not violated any medical laws or restrictions in sport. PRP has been used to treat many athletes & even more weekend warriors. We are conducting several studies including a 10 multi center clinical trial on tennis elbow as well as a pilot knee arthritis study that was submitted for publication.
So hopefully the bright side of all this media frenzy will be the attention placed on an emerging therapy PRP. In no way is this a panacea but it appears a safe alternative to cortisone. More studies will emerge soon, some pro and some con to best determine which patients and injuries will be proper candidates for PRP.
Tags: CNN, Danielle Aufiero MD, Dr Danielle Aufiero, Dr. Steve Sampson, Masters, orthohealing center, platelet rich plasma, Platelet Rich Plasma Therapy, PRP, prp injection, Steven Sampson D.O., Tiger Woods
How in the heck can I get PRP done?? I can’t get any one to do it on a chronic hamstring & adductor tear that has turned my life into a living hell. The doctors can’t see any tears in my MRI’s so they won’t do the procedure. GD it, can I buy the equipment myself?? If some one has info please email me as I’d like to be able to sit and walk again with out living in pain for the rest of my life. Running and other activities would be a plus but at this point I’d settle with walking and sitting pain free. I’m only 31 and this has been going on for 7 years. It’s enough to drive one over the edge =(.