Are you curious about functional medicine? If you’re looking for a different way to approach your health, functional medicine could be right for you. In this post, we describe the basic concept and how it may help you.
Every now and then, a new procedure or treatment approach seems to sweep through and be the answer for all your woes. If you’re skeptical, it’s with good reason. “Trendy” isn’t a word that should ever apply to medical procedures.
Right now, it seems as if platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy is one of those new treatments that’s recommended for a wide variety of problems. However, PRP therapy is everywhere because it’s effective -- not because it’s trendy.
There are several factors that make PRP an especially effective treatment approach. We’ll discuss a few of them in this post. But first it may be helpful to describe what PRP therapy actually is.
Your blood is composed of various types of cells, including red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets, as well as plasma (the liquid portion of blood). Platelets are especially important for PRP therapy, because they’re part of your body’s healing response and contain special proteins called growth factors.
When you have PRP therapy, some of your blood is drawn, and then the components are separated. The platelets are isolated and then mixed with a small amount of plasma to make PRP.
Dr. Spiegel carefully injects the platelet-rich plasma into the area of your body that is injured or needs to heal. For example, if you have osteoarthritis in your knee, he injects the PRP into the damaged tissue surrounding your knee joint.
Surgeons have used PRP therapy during surgeries to repair ruptured tendons for many years. More recently, the therapy has become popular for treating soft tissue injuries, musculoskeletal problems, arthritis, and even hair loss.
Dr. Spiegel frequently uses the therapy to speed healing for conditions such as:
PRP therapy is effective in treating problems with your tendons, ligaments, muscles, and bones, among other tissues.
Researchers are still learning exactly how and why PRP works. The results our patients have seen with the therapy are impressive.
There are several reasons PRP is an effective treatment:
If you’d like to learn more about PRP therapy and find out if you’re a candidate for this amazing therapy, make an appointment with Dr. Spiegel today. You can book online using our scheduling tool, or give us a call during regular business hours.
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