Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) Treatment in Alexandria, VA

You’ve probably heard of PRP injections in the media, and for a good reason. These injections are commonly used to improve a patient’s healing process and significantly alleviate pain or aches. PRP shots are quite effective. Roughly 84% of patients who were administered the injections reportedly exhibited a 25% reduction in pain, inflammation, and improved range of motion of the joint immediately

Not only are these injections used in medical labs but they’re also used for sports injuries and cosmetic surgery. To help you understand the intricate benefits of our PRP therapy, we take you through everything you need to know about our platelet-rich plasma services and the conditions it can treat.

What Is Platelet Rich Plasma?

Platelet-rich plasma therapy, or PRP therapy for short, is a form of medical surgery that utilizes a patient’s own platelets. These injections contain highly concentrated platelets found in the plasma, areas of non-cellular blood.

Platelets are blood cells used by our bodies to form blood clots when our skin or flesh is cut or pierced to prevent too much bleeding. While they don’t naturally feature regenerative abilities, platelets secrete enzymes and growth factors that help stimulate a patient’s healing process.

How Does PRP Treatment Work?

For patients undertaking our PRP therapy procedure, we will first obtain blood samples and collect the required plasma for the operation since PRP therapy primarily works based on blood. To obtain this plasma, our licensed medical practitioner would need to draw out 30 to 60cc of a patient’s blood and use a medical device, known as a centrifuge, to separate the platelet-rich cells required for the procedure.

For pain or sports injury treatment, we will inject a PRP shot directly into pain areas, such as tissue, tendons, or soft layered spine facets. Once the shot is administered, the platelets will begin the healing process and regenerate damaged blood vessels and cells and enhance overall collagen production.

For dermatological purposes, our doctor will directly administer the PRP shot into the scalp to help alleviate hair loss by enhancing a patient’s hair growth cycle.

What Conditions Can PRP Treatment Be Used For?

Platelet-rich plasma treatments can be used to treat a myriad of medical conditions and physical injuries with little to no side effects.

Tendon Injuries

Tendons are integral tissues that are responsible for how well the body moves. Damage to tendons can result in substantial harm to mobility, causing limping or temporary disability. During an injury, less blood is directed toward the tendons, causing the muscle to stiffen up and ultimately making it hard for growth factors to reach the injured area and heal it. However, PRP shots are directly injected into the injury site to effectively provide the body with the relevant growth factors necessary to facilitate a quick recovery.

Back and Spinal Conditions

PRP injections can help alleviate the amount of pain and suffering caused by back pain. This can be in the form of herniated or slipped discs or trauma to the spine’s sciatic nerve. Our PRP therapy treatment offers a less intrusive and quicker way to alleviate chronic back aches with the least effort.

Make the Switch to a Pain-Free Lifestyle

Dealing with constant pain can be excruciating. We offer holistic and affordable PRP therapy and non-surgical plasma treatment options in Alexandria, Virginia. Contact Virginia Family Integrated Medicine today to set up an appointment!

Why PRP?

PRP was initially used in 1987 to expedite postoperative wound healing. Since then, it has gained popularity in several medical areas such as sports medicine, dentistry, ophthalmology, urology and cosmetology. PRP is safe and without any side effects because it’s basically blood from your own body. It contains:

  • General Cytokines
  • Growth factor Cytokines
  • Homeostatic Cytokines
  • Naturally occurring exosomes

Benefits

  • Accelerates tissue healing
  • Helps with bone cartilage formation
  • Helps with MSC proliferation
  • Modifies the catabolic degenerative microenvironment
  • Decreases inflammation
  • Significant decrease in pain levels post injection
  • Increases the synthetic capacity of chondrocytes
  • Helps with soft tissue Injuries, tendons and sheath
  • Helps with sprain ligaments
  • Enhances type 2 collagen deposition

Indication

PRP is an excellent product for treatment of several conditions as it has proven to yield potential benefits with great results based on many clinical researches. In recent years, PRP has been used in treatment for orthopedic conditions such as:

  • Osteoarthritis- PRP has demonstrated positive effects on chondrogenesis and MSC proliferation as well as the ability to modify the catabolic degenerative microenvironment. Even better for patients with low degree of cartilage degeneration.
  • Achilles tendons
  • Patella tendinopathy
  • Hamstring Injuries
  • Degenerative spine diseases