Your body is an incredibly powerful biological machine equipped with its own defense mechanisms, warning systems, and even self-healing capabilities.
Dr. David Wu and our team at CurePain have years of experience tapping into that built-in healing power with regenerative medicine treatments like platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections. In this blog, we explain how this revolutionary treatment works, starting with the basics.
Here’s everything you should know about platelets and how your body uses them to accelerate healing.
Your blood is much more than a sticky red substance. Put a drop of your blood under a microscope, and you’ll discover just how complex it is.
Your blood contains several components, including red and white blood cells, plasma, and platelets.
Platelets are blood cells that help your blood clot when you have an injury. They also contain unique proteins called growth factors, which play a crucial role in your body’s natural healing process. These growth factors encourage collagen production and attract oxygen, nutrients, and other elements to damaged areas of your body.
Your body kickstarts this process when you’re injured by sending more blood to the area; however, it’s not uncommon for it to stall out, resulting in chronic pain conditions and slow healing.
Enter PRP injections.
PRP is a type of regenerative medicine that calls upon the healing and growth factors already in your body. We create PRP injections by spinning a sample of your blood in a centrifuge to separate the individual components and isolate the platelets and plasma.
Once processed, PRP contains upwards of eight times more than a typical blood sample.
We then inject PRP back into your body, wherever there’s pain, injury, and/or damage. The solution works quickly to reboot your body’s natural healing mechanisms, repair tissue, reduce inflammation, and ultimately, help you feel less pain and recover faster.
Our patients love PRP injections because they don’t mask pain or symptoms but support genuine, lasting healing and pain relief from the inside out.
PRP injections are versatile and minimally invasive, making them a viable option for almost all of our patients — some even turn to PRP for cosmetic concerns like hair loss. We recommend them for a wide range of musculoskeletal conditions, including:
Because they’re all-natural and minimally invasive, you can opt to add other treatments to your plan, such as facet joint injections, epidural steroid injections, radiofrequency ablation, and spinal cord stimulation.
PRP injections are rarely a one-and-done treatment. Depending on the severity of your injury or pain condition, you may need a series of injections to get the best results.
Pain relief, improved function, and reduced inflammation develop gradually in the weeks and months following your injection. Don’t be surprised if you notice a brief uptick in swelling and pain shortly afterward — this is a natural response to PRP and a good sign that your body has restarted the healing process.
Your body knows how to heal itself, but sometimes it needs a little reminder from science. If you’re struggling with pain or have a nagging injury, we want to talk with you and see if PRP injections are right for you.
Call our friendly staff or use our online booking tool to schedule a consultation at our Torrance, California, office today.
