Stitches, high risk of infection, scars, long recovery periods — this is what life after surgery often looks like. Operations and invasive procedures do have their time and place for severe injuries and damage, but it’s certainly not for everyone.
If you’ve been told that surgery is your only path to pain relief, it’s time to get a second (or third or fourth) opinion and investigate platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections.
Dr. David Wu and our team at CurePain have used PRP injections to help many people avoid the operating room and relieve the pain naturally.
Here’s a closer look.
You might hear someone call PRP injections “regenerative medicine.” That’s because PRP injections use the powerful healing properties of your blood to work with your body’s built-in repair systems to reverse tissue damage, reduce inflammation, and relieve pain.
Creating PRP is simple. We begin by taking a blood sample (about the amount you give during a routine blood test). The sample goes into a centrifuge, which separates the platelets from the rest of your blood.
Once the PRP is prepared, we inject it into your painful joint(s).
We recommend PRP injections for a wide range of painful musculoskeletal conditions, including:
PRP is also one of the first places we turn when traditional treatments fail.
Your blood is much more than a sticky red substance — it’s an incredibly complex and powerful part of your anatomy. Each component of your blood plays a specific role, but the component we are most concerned with is the platelets.
Platelets are some of biology’s most potent healers. In response to an injury, they release healing and growth factors to kick-start your body’s tissue repair process.
In the case of chronic pain and injury, where your natural healing and repair process has stalled or become overwhelmed, PRP arrives on the scene to flood the damaged areas of your body with a concentrated solution of platelets to restart the process.
Yes! Many (not all) of our patients who’ve been told they’re destined for an operation find that PRP keeps them from going under the knife. PRP injections often provide enough relief and progress in healing to make surgery no longer necessary.
PRP injections are one of the most natural ways to address musculoskeletal pain because they’re based on biological materials, which significantly reduces the risk of adverse reactions and side effects that accompany traditional pain management treatments.
You may notice some swelling and pain at the injection site immediately after your injection, but this is perfectly normal as your body begins to process the influx of healing factors.
PRP injections are also minimally invasive, which is a huge benefit even if you weren’t inching your way closer to the operating room.
We also recommend PRP injections because they’re effective. For instance, one of the most extensive studies examining PRP injections reported that 84% of patients with tennis elbow who received PRP experienced a 25% or greater reduction in their pain. Many of our patients notice symptom relief within a few weeks, with the best results developing over several months.
Chronic pain doesn’t have to doom you to invasive procedures. Before you resign yourself to surgery, let’s talk about PRP injections. Call our friendly staff or use our online booking tool to schedule a consultation at our Torrance, California, office today.
