Many Los Angeles Dodgers receiving Platelet Rich Plasma Injections (PRP blood spinning therapy) to accelerate healing.
A recent LA Times story featured the popular use of PRP Platelet Rich Plasma Therapy by the Los Angeles Dodger’s for common injuries of the elbow and shoulder. Pitcher Zach Greinke’s sore elbow was treated with PRP. Pitchers like Takashi Saito had the blood injection, which saved his season by avoiding surgery. According to the LA Times, Saito suffered a partially torn elbow ligament in July and had a 20% chance of pitching again that season. Not wanting to undergo an operation at age 38, Saito agreed to become the first known professional baseball player to receive the treatment. Many patients have received PRP for tendon injuries from head to toe with overall encouraging outcomes. More data is required to best determine which patients & which conditions (tennis elbow, knee osteoarthritis etc) may benefit most. PRP is an increasingly favorable alternative to steroid injections that have been well documented to promote cell death and worsened outcomes in the long run. PRP stimulates the body’s healing process to promote natural recovery and may improve the structure itself. Doctors at the Orthohealing Center are leading the way in research in regenerative medicine to better understand new treatments like PRP and bone marrow concentrate.
Dr Steven Sampson is travelling to the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons next week in Chicago as one of the principal investigators in the world’s largest placebo controlled trial on tennis elbow with PRP injection. Stay tuned for more details!
