AARP Magazine recently featured several breakthrough therapies for treating tendon injuries including Prolotherapy and Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP).
Prolotherapy is a treatment that utilizes dextrose, a type of sugar, to serve as an irritant to awaken and speed up our body’s own natural healing capacities. Prolotherapy induces changes within weakened tendons to increase strength and firmness. Treatments generally involve a series of injections under the guidance of an ultrasound for proper placement. This therapy has become increasingly popular as both patients and doctors shy away from using cortisone for tendon injuries because of the potential damage steroids can inflict upon already weakened tendons.
Tendon injuries can also be treated with Platelet Rich Plasma, or PRP. PRP is derived from a patient’s own blood and is also a more natural way to treat injuries compared to steroids. Platelets have been shown to be rich in growth factors – which is what our body uses to heal an injured area. Spinning of a patient’s blood in device called a centrifuge allows these growth factors to become concentrated. This concentrate of platelets and growth factors, called PRP, is then injected back into an injured area to stimulate natural healing and tissue regeneration. PRP has been shown to be beneficial in more than tendon injuries as promising results have also been seen in clinical trials including ligaments, muscle, and cartilage.
The doctors of the Orthohealing Center have treated hundreds of patients with Prolotherapy and PRP with very encouraging results. We are delighted to see AARP Magazine helping to spread the knowledge of these cutting-edge therapies!
