PRP Therapy for Connective Tissue Injuries

If you’ve ever injured a tendon or ligament you know how painful such injuries can be. You also know that injured connective tissue takes longer to heal than injured muscle tissue. That’s because there is generally very little blood flow to connective tissue, especially in areas in and around fluid-filled joints. As a result, very few blood platelets and white blood cells are delivered to the area to help with tissue repair.

Experts in sports medicine now think they have a potential solution. It’s called “platelet-rich plasma therapy”, or PRP for short. The method is surprisingly straightforward. A sample of the patient’s own blood is enriched in platelets by removal of the blood cells and most of the water and electrolytes. The remaining platelet-enriched plasma is then injected directly into the injured joint or connective tissue. The theory is that the platelets will release proteins involved in tissue repair and attract other tissue-repair cells to the area, speeding the healing process.

Does PRP therapy work for such common connective tissue injuries as rotator cuff strains, Achilles tendon injuries, and tennis elbow? Clinical trials are underway in several countries, including the U.S., to find out. Meanwhile, some professional athletes have already tried it, including Los Angeles Dodgers’ baseball pitcher Takashi Saito and Pittsburgh Steelers’ receiver Hines Ward. Ward has his answer already; he was able to play in the Superbowl just two weeks after a knee injury that generally sidelines players for 4-6 weeks.