If you suffer from Joint and/or muscle (musculoskeletal) pain you know that each day you wake up wondering whether pain is going to be a factor, and you’re tired of the ever-present threat.
Dr. Warren Bleiweiss and staff at Alternative Disc Therapy understand the magnitude of the problem and how it can negatively impact your life. Fortunately for our patients, Dr Bleiweiss is on the leading edge of regenerative treatments that are resolving a wide range of musculoskeletal issues.
In the following, we explore our unique approach to platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy and what conditions this regenerative practice can tackle.
PRP made better
Before we dive into the many conditions we can address through PRP therapy, let’s take a quick look at why this therapy is so successful.
With PRP therapy, we extract platelets from your own blood to process and create a concentrate, which contains some incredibly powerful resources, such as growth factors that help with cell recruitment, proliferation, and differentiation of regenerative cells.
To give you a better idea about the regenerative resources these growth factors call upon, one of the first responders are your body’s stem cells. Upon arrival, stem cells transform into the cells your tissues need to initiate repairs, and then they multiply as that type of specialized cells. Platelets signal these cells and provide the microenvironment that enables them to thrive. Platelets also contain cytokines, which help regulate inflammation and cell growth.
On its own, PRP therapy is highly effective, but we go a step further by activating your platelets with three different wavelengths of light energy. By adding this photo activation component, we ensure that the platelet concentrate we inject into your damaged tissues goes straight to work to generate newer and healthier cells.
Conditions we can treat with PRP
We rely on PRP therapy to help our patients overcome a wide range of musculoskeletal issues, including:
- Ligament strains or tears
- Tendon issues
- Muscle strains or sprains
- Joint pain and inflammation (arthritis)
When it comes to the last item on this list, arthritis, which affects more than 92 million adults in the United States, PRP may hold the key to solving this growing problem.
Osteoarthritis can be difficult to treat since it involves your cartilage, which lacks a good blood supply. Since your blood vessels are unable to deliver regenerative resources to the damaged tissue, it doesn’t readily heal itself, leaving you with degenerative joint disease.
With PRP therapy, we provide the resources necessary for healing and repair, allowing you to regain pain-free movement in your joints.
A look at results
To give you an idea of the efficacy of PRP therapy, let’s take a look at one study of 50 participants who underwent surgery for carpal tunnel syndrome. Half of the group received platelet rich plasma (PRP) therapy and the other half received platelet-poor plasma.
When the two groups were compared six weeks after the surgery, researchers found that those who received PRP regained their preoperative hand-grip strength while those in the other group had not.
Our own experiences with PRP therapy certainly confirm these findings, as we’ve helped our patients find long-term solutions for musculoskeletal pain. This is important because treatments like steroid injections may offer temporary relief from your discomfort, but they’re only managing a symptom. With PRP therapy, we go straight to the source of the problem for far more sustainable results.
If you’d like to explore how PRP therapy can help with your musculoskeletal problems, please contact our office in Caldwell, New Jersey, to set up a consultation.
