Regenerative Medicine Specialist in Kenosha and Burlington, WI

A PRP preparation is created by first drawing blood from the patient. The platelets are then separated from the other cells. Next their concentration is increased through a process called centrifugation. Finally, the increased concentration of platelets is combined with the remaining blood.

The injury site can be treated by injecting PRP into the injured area. PRP may also be used to improve healing after surgery. This requires preparing the PRP in such a way as to allow it to be stitched into the damaged tissue.

Clinical studies show that PRP injections have improved function and decreased pain in elbow, wrist, shoulder, hip, knee, and ankle tendonosis. Research with osteoarthritis is also encouraging. Side effects of PRP injections are rare as the patient is utilizing their own blood, to which there should be no reaction.

Prolotherapy is a pain relief procedure that involves the injection of an irritant solution into a tendon insertion, joint space or weakened ligament. Commonly used solutions are hyperosmolar dextrose, lidocaine, glycerine, sodium morrhuate or phenol.

Prolotherapy injections are administered at joints or tendons where they connect to bone.  The treatment sessions are usually given every two to six weeks for several months until treatments are rarely required, if at all.

It is well established that a significant population of our bodies’ stem cells are contained within our bone marrow. By harvesting blood and tissue from the bone marrow space of the hip, an injectable product can be produced by concentrating platelets and cells withdrawn through a simple outpatient needle aspiration procedure, done with local anesthetic and light sedation. BMA contains all of the growth and healing factors in PRP, along with concentrated “pluripotent” or stem-like cells which further contribute to the regenerative process.

Knee Pain
•    Tendon Injuries (Patellar Tendonitis, Quad Tendon)
•    Muscle injuries
•    Ligament sprains or tears (MCL, LCL)
•    Bursitis
•    Osteoarthritis

Hip Pain
•    Muscle pain or injury
•    Pyriformis syndrome
•    Greater Trochanteric Bursitis
•    Tendon Injuries
•    Sacroiliac joint pain
•    Hamstring tendonitis or tears
•    Osteoarthritis

Shoulder and Arm Pain
•    Rotator Cuff tendonitis, tendonopathy or partial tears
•    Bicipital tendonitis
•    Medial and Lateral epicondylitis (golfers & tennis elbow)
•    Ulnar Collateral Ligament sprain or tear

Lower Leg and Foot Pain
•    Plantar Fasciitis
•    Shin Splints
•    Peroneal tendonitis
•    Ankle sprains/ligament injury
•    Achilles tendonitis or partial tears

Process
Following a formal evaluation and diagnostic workup, an individualized treatment plan will be discussed with you. A full explanation of the procedure including risks and benefits will be reviewed. Once written consent is obtained, blood is drawn from your arm or from a bone marrow aspiration in the back of your hip region, and placed in a special processing unit, which separates platelets, white blood cells and serum from red blood cells. The platelets and white blood cells (including stem cells) are then concentrated and collected into a sterile syringe. Some of the blood is used to create an “activator” of the PRP/BMA. The skin and soft tissue is anesthetized with local anesthetic, followed by injection of both the PRP/BMA and activator into the tissue targeted for treatment. Depending on the size of the injured tissue, one or several needles are inserted to optimize placement of the product.

Plan
Depending on the severity and duration of your injury, one to three injections are suggested. Following the initial treatment with PRP or BMA, a follow up visit occurs 3-4 weeks later. At this visit an evaluation of your response to the initial therapy is performed and a decision is made regarding the need for additional PRP treatments. In general, chronic injuries often require more than one injection. In both acute and chronic injuries, injections may be combined with an exercise or physical therapy program to enhance the success of the treatment.

Research and clinical data show that PRP and BMA injections are extremely safe, with minimal risk for any adverse reaction or complication. Because the injectable products are produced from your own blood, there is no concern for rejection or disease transmission. There is a small risk of infection from any injection into the body, but this is rare. Of note, recent research suggests that PRP may have an anti-bacterial property which protects against possible infection (4).