How PRP Therapy Can Treat Your Arthritic Joints


How PRP Therapy Can Treat Your Arthritic Joints

An estimated 55 million Americans have some form of arthritis, which is an umbrella term for a collection of diseases that affect the joints. Arthritis is generally a progressive and incurable condition. Arthritis may not only cause pain, but it can make sufferers reluctant to move the affected joints. This is a problem because movement is one of the best ways to slow the disease's progression.

Using pain and anti-inflammatory medications has long been part of arthritis management, but the perils of long-term drug use have had patients and doctors alike searching for effective alternatives for treatment. The good news is that a growing number of doctors are finding great success with platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy.

Platelet-rich plasma therapy is a safe, drug-free treatment that uses your body's own resources to heal your affected joints from the inside out. In this blog, the doctors at Valley Neurology and Pain explain what PRP therapy is and how it may be able to heal joints affected by arthritis.

The limits of blood supply

Most of the building blocks for healing — including platelets — circulate through your body in your blood. When an area needs healing, your body directs these raw materials to the site. However, your rate of recovery could slow if there's poor blood supply to the area or if enough raw materials don't arrive.

Platelet-rich plasma therapy helps get crucial supplies directly to the site of the injury. With PRP therapy, platelets — which are cells in the blood that help with repair and regeneration — are harvested from your body and injected directly to the site that needs healing.

How PRP therapy works

To perform PRP therapy, a small sample of your blood is drawn. Then your provider places your blood in a centrifuge, where your platelets are separated from your blood's other components. Then the platelet serum is injected into the injured site. This extra infusion of platelets then goes to work helping to heal and regenerate tissue in your arthritic joint.

While research and clinical studies into the effects of PRP therapy are continuing, the treatment has been shown to reduce inflammation, reduce pain, and slow the progression of osteoarthritis. It has also been shown to help stimulate the growth of new cartilage and increase the production of synovial fluid. Cartilage and synovial fluid are crucial to the ease of movement in joints, and they also assist with cushioning.

At Valley Neurology and Pain, with three convenient Arizona locations in Phoenix and Peoria, you are never a number. Your consultation, examination, and treatment are always administered by a highly qualified physician. We have several physicians experienced in PRP therapy who can help you, including Toure Knighton, MD, Dinesh Chinthagada, MD, and Jin Yuk, MD. To learn more, book an appointment online or over the phone today.




Valley Neurology and Pain of Arizona Phoenix Magazine Top Doctor Award - Valley Neurology and Pain of Arizona

phone 480-508-2700

fax 866-371-2839

place 426 E Southern Ave Ste 101 Tempe, AZ 85282

place 2330 N 75th Ave Ste 113 Phoenix, AZ 85035