Chris
Faytok/The Star-LedgerGiants defensive tackle Chris Canty, kneeling, received
PRP treatment Monday to accelerate his recovery from his hamstring tear.
ALBANY,
N.Y. -- When Giants defensive tackle Chris Canty met with team doctors in New
York Monday, coach Tom Coughlin said he received additional treatment "to
try to speed the healing" of his hamstring tear. The procedure he had done
was the cutting-edge platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy, a team spokesman
confirmed.
PRP therapy
has taken off in popularity this year among top-tier athletes and received
major attention when Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward used it on an MCL sprain
prior to Super Bowl XLIII. The procedure jump starts the body's ability to heal
itself, by concentrating the platelets in a sample of the patient's own blood
and re-injecting the PRP into the injured area (Read more about the procedure
here).
Canty has
been sidelined since Aug. 8 with his hamstring injury, which Coughlin said
Sunday was "serious" and "not progressing the way we want it
to." The Giants certainly want their high-priced free agent on the field
-- especially after another player at his position, Jay Alford, sustained an
MCL tear and partial ACL tear in Saturday's game.
On acute
injuries -- ones that have just occurred, like Canty's -- PRP therapy can
accelerate healing 30 to 50 percent. But certainly the impact it has depends on
the nature and severity of the injury, making it difficult to compare cases. It
is relevant to note, though, that the Hospital for Special Surgery in Manhattan
-- where both the Giants and Mets team physicians are based -- has used the
procedure on its athlete patients before, including earlier this summer with
Mets shortstop Jose Reyes' torn hamstring tendon.
PRP therapy
is generally used on ligaments and tendons, as well as muscles. Side effects
are limited, but do include soreness at the site of injection. It's also
important to note that this procedure is not blood doping. An NFL spokesman
said earlier this summer the league regards it as a medical treatment, not a
performance-enhancement agent, so its use is left to the discretion of team
physicians.
That's the
science lesson of the day. Many athletes -- including Ward -- have been helped
by PRP, so it will be interesting to see what effect it has on Canty's
recovery.
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