What is PRP?

Platelet-rich-plasma is a serum made from a concentrated version of your own blood. Sports medicine doctors have used PRP to help athletes like professional golfer Tiger Woods and NFL star Hines Ward recover from injuries.

Platelets are one of the solids in your blood, and plasma is the liquid. Platelets contain healing substances, such as growth factors, that help your body rebuild tissue after an injury.

When you opt for PRP, Dr. Woodson or a medical associate draws about two teaspoons of your blood and then spins it in a centrifuge to separate the platelets from the plasma. They create a serum with the concentrated platelets and just a small amount of plasma. The PRP serum contains about 94% more platelets and up to 10 times the concentration of growth factors as normal blood.

What is stem cell therapy?

Stem cells are cells that haven’t yet differentiated into a specific type of cell but have the potential to do so. For stem cell therapy, Dr. Woodson extracts mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) from your fatty tissue or hip bone. The MSCs have the potential to become other types of cells that your body needs, including:

Bone

Cartilage

Tendons

Ligaments

Muscles

After Dr. Woodson or his medical team extract fat or bone marrow in a simple outpatient procedure, they spin it in a centrifuge to separate out the stem cells. They inject the stem cells directly into your injured tissue or joint to help healing. Some patients may opt for donated stem cell therapies, too.

What are some uses for PRP and stem cell therapy?

Both PRP and stem cells come from your own body or from pre-screened donations. These therapies contain the same ingredients that your body uses to heal naturally, but at greater, more concentrated proportions. Both PRP and stem-cell therapy may help:

Reduce or alleviate pain

Repair sports injuries

Regenerate or repair damaged tissue

Reduce inflammation

Accelerate healing

The extra growth factors and stem cells help your own body’s healing systems work more efficiently. Using PRP and stem-cell therapy may help you avoid more invasive therapies, including surgery.

To find out if PRP and stem cell therapy can help you heal faster and better, contact Dr. Woodson’s helpful team by phone or online scheduler.