At South Florida Interventional Orthopedics and Spine, double board-certified physician Seth Kaufman, DO, specializes in physical and rehabilitation medicine. At his offices in Davenport and Miami, Florida, Dr. Kaufman helps patients recover from sports injuries and wear-and-tear tissue damage using the most advanced, interventional approaches.
When it comes to tendon injuries, platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is often considered one of the best solutions because it helps you heal from the inside. Here’s what you should know about how tendon injuries happen and why PRP is often such a good choice for treatment.
Tendon injuries are among the most common musculoskeletal injuries. Most tendon injuries involve inflammation (tendinitis), and some involve partial or even complete tears.
A few of the most common tendon injuries are tennis elbow, Achilles tendinitis, jumper’s knee, and shoulder impingement, aka rotator cuff tendinitis.
Many patients are surprised to learn that most tendon injuries aren’t traumatic. In most cases, tendon injuries develop over a long period of time due to excessive wear and tear.
The tendons connect the bones to the muscles, so they absorb shock and help joints move smoothly. Over years of use, tendons can start to lose their natural elasticity and become more prone to tears.
This process is often accelerated in athletes, explaining why tendon injuries may occur earlier in active people compared to inactive ones.
PRP is derived from your blood. The blood contains several layers, including red blood cells, plasma, and platelets. The platelets are tiny sacs containing powerful proteins. Growth factors are among the most crucial proteins for healing.
After an injury, the platelets release growth factors locally to help stimulate the healing process. But PRP can greatly amplify that recovery response.
For PRP treatment, Dr. Kaufman takes a small amount of your blood and uses a specialized process called centrifugation to rapidly spin the platelets and plasma free from the rest of the blood. Then, after discarding the red blood cells, you’re left with a highly concentrated PRP formula.
In PRP treatment, Dr. Kaufman injects this concentrated solution directly around the injured tendon using advanced imaging guidance for perfect placement. This sends up to 10 times the usual amount of platelets directly to the site of your injury, creating a supercharged healing response.
PRP works on multiple levels to stimulate tendon healing.
Tendons are 60-85% collagen. When injured, new collagen is needed to repair damaged fibers. PRP promotes fresh collagen production far beyond what the body would normally produce to help with faster healing.
PRP improves local blood flow around the tendon. Tendons have a poor blood supply compared to other tissues like muscles, which helps explain why they tend to heal slowly under normal circumstances. Improving local blood flow provides crucial oxygen and nutrients around the tendon to stimulate faster healing.
PRP activates the body’s “master cells,” which have the power to regenerate any type of tissue. With these regenerative cells at the site of the injury, worn-down and damaged tendon tissue can rebuild and strengthen.
PRP can regulate inflammation, a key problem for most tendon injuries. It helps shift the body’s inflammatory response to create a calm healing environment.
PRP provides a solution that works around the natural limitations of tendon healing, like poor blood supply, to offer powerful healing that doesn’t require surgery. It may be a good choice for tendon inflammation and, in some cases, partial tears.
If you’re struggling with a tendon injury and wondering about your treatment options, Dr. Kaufman is here to help. Call the Miami or Davenport offices of South Florida Interventional Orthopedics and Spine or schedule an appointment with Dr. Kaufman through online booking today.
