Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) Treatments in Boise, Idaho

What is Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) Treatment?

When you are injured, your body automatically signals for help and calls your platelets, white blood cells, red blood cells and other components within your body to travel to the site of injury. Once there, these cells communicate with each other to release specific growth factors that initiate a healing process.

When used at the site of injury, the growth factors and other components in platelet rich plasma (PRP) have been clinically shown to potentially accelerate healing of injured or poorly healed tissue, thereby improving function and decreasing pain in patients of all ages and activity levels without surgery.

How Do Platelet-Rich Plasma Injections Work?

PRP therapy at Keystone Physical Medicine typically takes around thirty minutes to complete per treatment. Firstly, 30 milliliters of the patient’s blood is collected. The blood sample is placed in a centrifuge in order to separate the platelet-rich plasma from the other components of whole blood.

Doctors then inject the concentrated platelets into the site of the injury, usually using ultrasound guidance to assist with accuracy. Platelets function as a natural reservoir for growth factors that are key in repairing injured tissues. The growth factors that the platelets secrete stimulate tissue recovery through increasing collagen production, enhancing tendon stem cell proliferation, and tenocyte-related gene and protein expression.

These growth factors also stimulate blood flow and allow cartilage to turn more firm and resilient. PRP activates tenocytes so that they are able to proliferate fast and produce collagen to repair injured tendons, ligaments, cartilage, and muscles.

The number of injections will vary depending on the individual condition of each patient, but generally range anywhere from two to six injections done over time. Patients typically experience significant reduction in pain following the first or second injection. Typically speaking PRP injections are not painful, but the discomfort level will depend on the part of the body that is treated. Injections that go into the joint tend to produce minimal discomfort.

Common Conditions Treated with Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP)

• Lumbar spine disc pain
• Rotator cuff injuries, including partial-thickness
• Shoulder pain and instability
• Tennis and golfer’s elbow
• Hamstring and hip strains
• Knee sprains and instability
• Patellofemoral syndrome and patellar tendonitis
• Ankle sprains

• Achilles tendonitis & plantar fasciitis
• Knee, hip, and other joint osteoarthritis
• Nerve entrapment syndromes, such as Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
• Sacroiliac (SI) joint dysfunction and pain
• Lumbar and cervical facet dysfunction and pain
• Knee arthritis
• Hip joint arthritis
• Shoulder arthritis
• Ankle arthritis