Instead of traveling on the road with the Lakers for their upcoming 3 game road trip, Pau Gasol decided to rest his recently strained groin. Taking a page out of the Kobe Bryant “Rehab Manual”, Gasol underwent a Platelet Rich Plasma injection into the injured groin muscle, and even posted a picture of his injection. Research has shown extensive pain relieving and regenerative potential for PRP in musculoskeletal injuries, and may hold the key to get Pau back on the court. The concentrated platelet mixture, which is extracted from a patient’s own blood, contains large quantities of natural growth factors which show potential to accelerate healing of injured tissue. The groin including its tendons lack a strong blood supply which correlates with poor or delayed healing. In previous studies, PRP has been shown to reduce the healing time by approximately 50% in athletes’ return time to sport. History has shown blood based therapies like PRP to be extremely effective for high profile athletes such as Tiger Woods, Kobe Bryant, and Rafael Nadal. With the combination of rest and PRP, and rehab Pau may be back in action sooner than later! The Orthohealing Center in Los Angeles is a global leader in PRP therapy and frequently performs similar injections in not only elite athletes but in weekend warriors with joint and tendon pain.
Check out thePlatelet Rich Plasma section of the website for more information about the procedure. Stay connected on Twitter and Facebook for more articles and health tips!
