If you’re among the more than 20% of American adults struggling with chronic pain, you know it affects your quality of life. Chronic pain makes everything a challenge, from performing well at work to carrying out your day-to-day activities to getting a good night’s rest.
At Interventional Pain and Regenerative Medicine Specialists with offices in Arlington, Virginia, our providers offer the best in chronic pain management for patients in Northern Virginia and the DC Metro area.
That’s why we’re thrilled to offer all-natural platelet rich plasma (PRP) therapy to help you reduce your pain and promote your body’s own healing processes. Here’s a look at why this treatment is growing in popularity.
PRP therapy is quickly gaining popularity because it doesn’t use chemicals and drugs. Instead, this all-natural therapy harnesses your body’s own powerful healing properties.
Your blood contains disc-shaped cells called platelets that assist with clotting when you’re injured. Your wound triggers the platelets to flood the damaged tissue, sealing your blood vessels using a tentacle-like grasp which prevents blood from moving through the injury.
Platelets also contain powerful growth factors. These factors activate once any bleeding gets under control. These factors also come into play when you struggle with a disease that affects the health of your tissues.
The growth factors in platelets serve several important functions, including:
A healthy healing environment is key for improvement when your tissues are injured or diseased because platelets don’t work in isolation. They send signals, calling other cells and resources to support in your healing process.
PRP injections help manage chronic pain naturally by tapping into your body’s own healing process. It’s especially effective when added to traditional therapies and treatments for chronic pain, like making lifestyle changes (e.g., losing weight; improving nutrition), physical therapy, massage therapy, prescriptive exercises, and more.
Your provider draws a small amount of your blood, then separates the platelets using a centrifuge. This creates a solution containing 5-10 times more platelets than blood naturally has.
Your provider injects the PRP solution into the treatment area. Not only does the PRP injection reduce inflammation, easing your pain, but it also promotes healing and repair of your tissues, addressing the underlying cause of your pain.
Another reason PRP therapy is growing in popularity is how safe and effective it is. Because your provider injects you with cells your body makes, negative reactions to PRP are extremely rare.
All medical injections carry a risk of infection, swelling, and mild pain. But at Interventional Pain and Regenerative Medicine Specialists, we perform PRP therapy using sterile techniques to ensure your treatment is safe and you get the most effective care possible.
What’s more? PRP injections don’t take long. In fact, most treatments take only 30-90 minutes. Plus PRP therapy doesn’t require any downtime, meaning you’re free to resume your normal activities immediately following your treatment.
Each year, PRP injections help thousands of people find relief from chronic pain caused by many injuries and degenerative conditions, including:
At Interventional Pain and Regenerative Medicine Specialists, our providers use PRP therapy to treat many conditions. Before creating a personalized treatment plan, however, your provider first evaluates your condition to make sure you’re a good candidate for this all-natural therapy.
Scientists are still discovering more applications for regenerative medicine treatments, like PRP therapy. If you have a soft tissue problem that’s causing you chronic pain, talk to your provider to learn if PRP therapy can help.
Ready to learn more about PRP therapy and whether it’s right for you? Schedule an appointment online or over the phone with a pain management expert at Interventional Pain and Regenerative Medicine Specialists in Northern Virginia.
