Dear Running Doc:
My doctor suggested PRP (Platelet Rich Plasma) therapy for my back pain. Is this a mainstream practice yet? I know insurance doesn't cover it yet. I just want to understand the process more. Please help. Victor K. Port Washington, NY
Victor: Most sports medicine physicians now consider PRP injections as major an advance in sports medicine as the MRI. I write about PRP injections all the time since they are now available to everyone.
Now that they are widely available, I am doing them in my office as a treatment to speed healing and quickly get runners back to running, to cut healing times by half or more to muscle, ligament and tendon tears, Achilles tendondosis, plantar faciitis, tendonititis of the elbow, shoulder ailments, meniscus and labral tears in shoulders, knees and hips, back pain, arthritis, etc. The only downside side is cost since insurance companies are not covering this regenerative therapy as yet.
Here is how PRP works:
A physician takes a sample of your blood (approximately 20cc) and using a special centrifuge, spins it down for 14 minutes. This separates out a layer of platelit rich plasma, with white blood cells (lymphocytes which activate the platelets) which is then injected into the area needing regenerative therapy.
This accelerates healing so fast it is truly remarkable. The Pittsburgh Steelers' Hines Ward had this done in the two weeks before his MVP Super Bowl and did great. I have seen patients do just as well, though sometimes it takes two or three treatments.
Pros:
* It works faster than treating injuries without it, getting athletes back to their sport quicker.
* It can be done in a doctor's office in a little less than one hour.
* The injection does not weaken structures like cortisone does, it actually strengthens them.
Cons:
* Those against this procedure usually are talking about patients that can't afford the procedure -- because it is so new, insurance companies have yet to start reimbursing it. It now seems only the wealthy and professionals get this treatment.
* Some against the procedure point to minimal published research as yet, although more and more positive literature is finding its way into medical journals.
* Others who usually talk against the procedure are surgeons, and they have a vested interest in not seeing more opt for a procedure that may eliminate some surgeries.
Two years ago, the first North American PRP Conference was held in Toronto. The good news: Many well respected physicians spoke about multicenter clinical trials research at major institutions in this country which will be flooding medical journals soon.
Harvard cell biologists showed the cellular mechanism on how this works so well. A doctor from Florida spoke of the future and of using stem cells; he is best known for doing the stem cell procedure on Bartolo Colon when he was a New York Yankee.
Others showed that procedures using bone stem cells and even fat stem cells in our offices is probably only a year away.
Many speakers also showed that giving Human Growth Hormone with PRP, or stem cells, further speeds the results of healing.
The Florida doctor who spoke about the stem cell procedure actually does this in his Florida office since this is the only state that permits it; he is quick to point out that he cannot do this procedure on professionals since it is banned by sports leagues.
"Isn't it a shame I can treat a street sweeper better than a professional? Perhaps we need more Treatment Use Exemptions?"
So Victor, I hope I have cleared up what PRP is. I do believe it is now "mainstream." Good luck with your back pain. Please let me know how you are doing.
Lewis G. Maharam, MD
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