PRP Injection Therapy

Talking about degenerative arthritis and PRP injection therapy

Traditional treatment of degenerative knee arthritis
Traditional treatment of degenerative knee arthritis, inflamed pain can be relieved by oral anti-inflammatory analgesics or intra-articular injection of steroids; glucosamine, a component of articular cartilage, provides raw materials for cartilage regeneration, but with age The larger the cartilage regeneration ability is, the worse the effect of glucosamine is. In addition, intra-articular hyaluronic acid injection can provide joint cushioning and lubrication to achieve symptom relief, but the symptoms are not cured, can not promote the regeneration of articular cartilage, and there is a risk of allergies. Artificial knee replacement surgery is the final solution for the treatment of degenerative knee arthritis.

New treatment for degenerative knee arthritis

With the advancement of modern medicine, the use of PRP injection therapy process of hair transplantation  for the treatment of degenerative knee arthritis has proven to be another more effective method than hyaluronic acid injection. In Europe and the United States, this therapy has been popular for more than a decade. It was studied in the 1970s. Until the 1990s, the academic community blew the growth factor wind, which was used to promote the healing of wounds. The scope of orthopedics has been found to have an impact on the promotion of cartilage regeneration. Recently, in Taiwan, it has received widespread attention due to the good results of the artist.
PRP injection therapy

The so-called PRP refers to "Platelet-Rich Plasma", which is mainly treated with the characteristics of platelets. Platelets have the function of coagulation and hemostasis. However, in recent years, many medical researches have found that platelets play an important role in tissue repair and regeneration. It is the first activated cell when the human body is damaged and can be injured in the human body. Later, local release of growth factors, initiation of repair mechanisms, accelerate the repair and regeneration speed of bones, muscle cells, repair damaged cells, promote collagen proliferation, promote microvascular peripheral circulation and cartilage tissue regeneration. Therefore, injection in the joint can be expected to achieve the purpose of joint restoration and rejuvenation.

Generally, blood platelets are insufficient in concentration and contain unfavorable cells such as red blood cells and white blood cells, so they need PRP treatment  to be concentrated and purified. At the clinic, the nurse will take 20 cc of blood from the patient and remove the red blood cells and white blood cells by centrifugation. The process takes about 15-20 minutes. After obtaining about 3-4 cc of plasma containing high concentrations of platelets, the doctor will inject them under aseptic technique. The patient has a knee joint. Because it is a concentrated and purified blood, it is not a problem of rejection or allergy, and it is relatively safe.

The effect and attention of PRP injection therapy

Many studies have found that in patients with degenerative knee joints, PRP injection can relieve pain and symptoms, and the effect can be maintained for at least 9 months. The study published by the American Association of Orthopaedic Sports Medicine (AOSSM) in 2012 also showed that PRP therapy was effective in patients with initial knee arthritis and cartilage degradation, and improved after 12 months, the effect was better than injection of hyaluronic acid. Therefore, it is generally recommended that two to three times a year of PRP injection therapy can achieve the best joint rejuvenation purposes. If the symptoms are serious, the recommended course of treatment is to inject one dose per month for the first three months, then 2-3 times a year for maintenance or three consecutive months for each half year. In addition, the PRP-induced body re-repair reaction, the process and inflammation are similar, so it is recommended that after the PRP, three years of steroid and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory analgesics are not used (Pu Na pain is not limited). In addition, after the injection, the patient should not be overactive, and more rest can make the effect better.
Application of PRP injection therapy in sports medicine
In addition to the most common knee pain, another common area of ​​application of PRP is in sports medicine, such as: slight rupture of the rotator cuff, tennis elbow, golf elbow, anterior cruciate ligament injury, Achilles tendon Injury (partial rupture), etc., no surgery, no wounds, and short recovery time, has become the preferred treatment option for many foreign professional athletes. In addition, some patients with poor healing or slow healing after fracture can also use PRP injection to not only relieve pain before healing, but also shorten the time required for healing.

Other applications of PRP injection therapy

After the widespread prevalence of PRP injection therapy, many other postoperative analgesic repairs, skin and blood vessel regeneration, anti-aging and beauty (wrinkle collagen regeneration), treatment of baldness (hair follicle regeneration, foreign sputum), etc., can be applied Such treatment techniques. Of course, PRP can't solve all the medical problems. For example, when the knee joint is severely deformed and the non-surgical operation is not enough, the PRP may not be so amazing. Therefore, patients with degenerative arthritis need to discuss with professional orthopaedic surgeons in order to find a safer, more effective and suitable treatment for themselves, away from unnecessary pain.
 PRP injection therapy, the following patients are not suitable for this treatment
People with low platelets, people with infectious diseases and sepsis, people with acute or chronic blood-borne diseases, people with blood-related tumors, people with signs of infection in pre-injected areas, or those with immune system diseases People (such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus erythematosus, etc.)

Comparison of PRP injection therapy and glucose injection therapy

PRP injection therapy is the injection of concentrated platelets (including growth factors) into the parts that need to be repaired, directly releasing high-concentration growth factors to guide the re-repair; glucose-proliferation injection is to stimulate the local part with high glucose, induce inflammation and restart self-healing mechanism. That is to say, PRP injection of tissue to a large number of repaired growth factors to initiate repair, while high-density glucose requires tissue reaction before it can accumulate growth factors and initiate repair. In addition, grape hyperplasia injection therapy is more suitable for ligament-skeletal junction damage, and PRP can be applied to most tissue damage.
Therefore, PRP injection therapy is superior to glucose proliferative injection therapy. Both injection therapy are not paid, they are self-funded. PRP injection therapy is generally more expensive than glucose hyperplasia therapy. Therefore, before starting PRP injection therapy, glucose hyperplasia injection therapy can be used first.