Non- Surgical Treatment

Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP)

Injuries to tendons, muscles and ligaments can occur with all types of sports activities. These injuries often take a long time to heal usually due to a decreased blood supply to the injured area. Many athletes and weekend warriors are now turning to PRP therapy to promote healing of the injury to return to their favorite sports sooner.

Platelet rich plasma (PRP) is the concentrated portion of blood plasma enriched with platelets. Blood plasma contains vital growth factors that help in repairing injured tissue and platelets which contain Vitamin K and play a major role in the formation of blood clots. This therapy is used to treat foot and ankle pain, tendon injuries, sports injuries, and others form of injury.

Tendons and ligaments have very poor blood supply which causes a delay in healing time. Injection of PRP results in accumulation of excessive amounts of platelets at the injured site. Platelets degranulate releasing several growth factors and cytokines which stimulate one or more phases of tissue regeneration.

To perform PRP, blood is drawn from your body and centrifuged (spun in a special machine) to separate blood plasma from the blood products. The plasma is then taken and kept aside in a sterile injection. An ultrasound is done by the physician to locate the actual place of injury. The PRP is then injected into the site of injury to reduce pain and promote healing.

PRP therapy uses the patient’s own blood so the treatment is associated with minimal risk factors or contraindications. PRP is also used in the formation of bone in cases of fractures to help in the formation of new bone tissue.

Autologous Conditioned Plasma(ACP)

ACP (autologous conditioned plasma) is a substance with remarkable healing properties derived from blood and used to treat injuries and arthritis. ACP contains a concentrate of growth factors and platelets which signal a reparative process when injected into damaged tissue. A small quantity of blood is required for the procedure which is drawn into a specialized double syringe system and then spun in a centrifuge machine until plasma rich in platelets and growth factors is isolated. This plasma is then drawn out and injected into the affected joint to promote healing. The entire procedure takes about 30 minutes to perform. You may receive three treatments a week apart. ACP is a new treatment currently being researched. Your doctor will explain the procedure and the risks involved before obtaining your consent.