3 Reasons Your Patients and Practice Can Benefit From Platelet Rich Plasma
As a cutting edge procedure, further research needs to be done to better understand the effects of PRP. 
Currently, there is some evidence that PRP is effective for bone healing, cartilage repair, and wound healing. Ongoing clinical trials are assessing the efficacy of PRP for ankle sprains, bone healing, chronic Achilles tendinopathy, plantar fasciitis, and many other musculoskeletal injuries. According to the research studies currently reported, PRP is most effective in the treatment of repetitive tendon injuries, especially tennis elbow. The use of PRP for other recurrent tendon injuries — such as persistent Achilles tendonitis or inflammation of the patellar tendon at the knee (jumper’s knee) is promising. In summary, available data suggest that PRP may be valuable in enhancing soft-tissue repair and wound healing.
As orthobiologic technology continues to advance, the theory behind platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is being discussed. Offer a thorough review of the literature on PRP for Achilles tendon injuries and provide insights from their clinical experience on the role of this emerging modality.
The use of orthobiologics in the treatment of foot and ankle injuries, both in the clinical and surgical venues, is significantly increasing. The clinician and the surgeon continue to seek better ways to accelerate and mediate the healing of bone and soft tissue while incorporating less invasive techniques.
The use of autologous platelet-rich plasma (PRP) by foot and ankle specialists over the last few years has emerged in the forefront of biologic tools in this endeavor. Physicians and clinicians have utilized PRP over the last four decades. Researchers have investigated the use of PRP in the treatment of tendon injuries, chronic wounds, ligamentous injuries, cartilage injuries, muscle injuries, and bone augmentation (intraoperative fusions and fracture repair). The use of PRP is based on the theory that increased concentrations of autologous platelets yield high concentrations of growth factors and other proteins, which will subsequently lead to enhanced healing of bone and soft tissue on a cellular level.
Plantar fasciosis is heel pain caused by deterioration of the plantar fascia, which occurs as a result of repetitive stress and chronic plantar fasciitis. This is the term used for the non-inflamed phase of plantar fasciopathy. It is much more difficult to treat plantar fasciosis when healthcare providers fail to recognize it as the non-inflamed phase of the condition.
3 Reasons Your Patients and Practice Can Benefit From Platelet Rich Plasma
In plantar fasciitis, there is adequate blood supply to the problematic area as well as an inflammatory response that happens to be painful. In plantar fasciosis, the fascia has a decreased or absent inflammatory response, a reduction in the growth/healing factors, and chronic scar tissue that prevents the healing process.
Treatments such as dry needling, extracorporeal shockwave therapy (ESWT), monopolar capacitive-coupled radiofrequency, Coblation and platelet rich plasma (PRP) focus on increasing the inflammation response rather than suppressing it. When a patient presents with symptoms of plantar fascia pain for six months or longer, we must stimulate the inflammatory and healing cascade.
Recent scientific research and technology provides the medical community with new understandings of wound and tissue healing. As a result of these scientific studies, it has been recognized that PRP is an all-natural autologous medical procedure performed in physicians’ offices for scalp, skin, and hair stimulation.
While studies are slowing being published in the medical literature on the success of PRP, the hair restoration community remains cautious about making claims for hair restoration using exclusively PRP. In a recent study published in Dermatologic Surgery, physicians in Korea published data supporting the clinical application of PRP in hair restoration.