PRP for Sports Injuries: Get Back in the Game Faster

Every year, millions of Americans suffer sports injuries during competitive play, practice, or simply while playing with friends. That includes athletes of all levels and all ages, from young kids to seniors. 

At Advanced Sports Medicine, James Johnson, MD, offers platelet-rich plasma (PRP) treatments for patients in Belle Mead and Nashville, Tennessee, promoting natural healing and a faster recovery after many sports injuries. Here’s how PRP therapy could help you.

How PRP works

As its name implies, PRP comprises plasma (the liquid part of blood) and tiny cells or cell fragments called platelets. Platelets are essential in clotting, helping prevent excess blood loss from cuts and other injuries. 

But platelets also contain proteins called growth factors. These proteins promote natural healing and tissue regeneration that helps heal or replace damaged tissues, including tissues damaged in many sports injuries.

PRP uses a special process to separate plasma and platelets from your blood, concentrating platelets to magnify their power and impact. PRP contains 5-10 times more platelets than your “normal” blood. 

When Dr. Johnson injects PRP at or near the site of an injury, it triggers natural healing responses that help repair damaged tissue and produce new, healthy cells while also helping reduce damaging inflammation. Plus, since PRP is made from a blood sample, there are no worries of allergic reactions or other “side effects” that can interfere with treatment.

PRP and sports injuries

PRP is used to treat an array of injuries. Still, it’s especially effective in injuries involving the tendons, ligaments, muscles, and joints, which are frequently involved in sports injuries. It’s also an effective treatment for athletes who have arthritis.

At his practice, Dr. Johnson uses PRP to treat sports-related injuries like:

• Golfer’s elbow
• Tennis elbow
• Jumper’s knee
• Knee arthritis
• Strains and sprains
• Muscle tears
• Hamstring pulls
• Rotator cuff injuries
• Achilles tendonitis

Each treatment is tailored to the specific injury and individual factors that could affect your healing.

Treatment begins with an extraction of a sample of your blood. The blood is processed in a special machine that separates plasma and platelets from the rest of your blood. The resulting PRP solution is injected at or near the injury site, where healing factors go right to work.

After injection, it’s not uncommon to have some soreness, stiffness, or mild swelling around the injection site, similar to what you’d experience after any injection. Dr. Johnson provides instructions on how to care for the site, including activity limitations that protect the area during the initial stages of healing and recovery.

Help for your sports injuries

PRP therapy is an innovative solution for many sports injuries, but it’s not the only state-of-the-art therapy Dr. Johnson offers for his patients. To learn how he can help you return to the activities you love, call 615-467-4636 or book an appointment online with Dr. Johnson and the team at Advanced Sports Medicine today.