Nursing an Overuse Injury? Accelerate the Healing Process with PRP Injections

We’ve all seen sudden, dramatic injuries: a broken leg, a sprained ankle, a blown Achilles. While acute injuries may get more attention, overuse injuries (also called repetitive strain injuries) are actually more common.

Overuse injuries occur when a tissue in your body is damaged due to repetitive use (making the same motion) over a period of time. Common overuse injuries include patellar tendinitis (jumper’s knee), shin splints, Little League elbow, ​​Osgood-Schlatter disease, tennis elbow, and more.

These types of injuries tend to take time to heal, which can be a problem for people who are itching to get back to the activity or work they’re missing while they recover.

At PRO Institute, our regenerative sports medicine specialist, Dr. Gayan Poovendran, has a secret weapon to accelerate your healing process: PRP injections.

Here’s how it works: 

What is PRP therapy?

PRP stands for platelet-rich plasma. Platelets are a component of your blood that contain growth factors, which are part of your body’s natural healing mechanism that is activated when an injury occurs. The idea of PRP injections is to create a solution rich in platelets that is then injected into the site of your injury, triggering your body’s natural healing response.

Because there are more platelets than normal, the injections kick the healing response into overdrive, causing more effective healing to occur more quickly. PRP injections work because they’re harnessing the body’s natural power to heal itself.

During the procedure, we’ll take a sample of your blood, spin it in a centrifuge to yield a high concentration of platelets, and inject that solution where you were injured.

How do injections help heal overuse injuries?

Now, how does this help overuse injuries? If treatment for your injury is progressing slowly, PRP injections may give the injury site the boost it needs to heal more quickly.

Soft tissues (such as tendons and ligaments) don’t have blood vessels running through them, so the amount of blood reaching the injured site can be limited. PRP injections dramatically increase the flow of platelets to the site. The additional growth factors the platelets bring accelerate the healing process by calming down inflammation and decreasing your pain. 

Depending on your individual situation, you may need multiple treatments before your injury is fully healed. Dr. Poovendran will discuss your specific treatment protocol with you.

If you’ve been nursing an overuse injury and want to see some progress, our team at PRO Institute can help you out. To schedule an appointment, call our Davie, Florida, office at 305-209-1951 or pick your own time with our convenient online scheduler!