PRP: The Game Changer for Remedying Arthritis and Other Joint Pain

Aging and arthritis are no strange bedfellows. In fact, approximately 54 million people in the United States have some form of arthritis, and this number is expected to rise to 78 million as the Baby Boomer population ages. So the race is on in medical circles to address the increasing incidence of joint pain — whether due to arthritis, injury, or overuse — and platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy is showing incredible promise.

Here at Advanced Integrative Medical Center, our goal is to keep our clients in Redondo Beach, California, as active as possible. We live in an incredible climate where we can enjoy the outdoors almost every day of the year, so we understand the frustration that comes with joint pain that confines you to being indoors on the couch. For this reason, we offer regenerative medicine in the form of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy to help our clients lead active lives, long into the future.

Read on to explore why PRP is a game-changer for remedying arthritis and other joint pain.

Inside the joint

Each of the articulating joints in your body brings together bones in a way that supports movement. Key to this mandate is the soft connective tissue in your joints, including your:

  • Cartilage
  • Tendons
  • Muscles
  • Ligaments

These tissues work together to keep all of the components in place, provide support, and enable movement and range of motion.

When any one of these components is damaged, however, the overall effect on your joint can be significant. As an example, osteoarthritis describes the breakdown in your cartilage — the firm, yet semi-flexible substance that covers the ends of the bones in your joint, allowing them to glide together smoothly. Without cartilage, your bones rub together unprotected, causing pain and inflammation.

By the same token, if you damage a tendon, ligament, or muscle, your joint’s ability to function properly is severely compromised, and you’re left with pain and inflammation as your body tries to repair the tissue.

A platelet boost

With PRP therapy, our goal is to provide a healing boost to your body, giving it the resources it needs to rebuild and repair.

Your platelets are one of the four main ingredients in your blood (the others are red and white blood cells and plasma). Their primary responsibility is to clot your blood, but it’s their secondary role that’s of interest here. Your platelets also contain growth factors and other proteins that aid in healing and repair after they’ve stopped the bleeding.

When your platelets register damage, they release these growth factors, which set to work to heal and repair by raising the call for your body to send in additional resources.

How PRP works

One of the greatest benefits of PRP therapy is that it’s an all-natural, nonsurgical solution that uses your body’s own resources to heal from within. All we’re doing is orchestrating a more powerful response. 

To do this, we draw some of your own blood and separate out the platelets in a special centrifuge. We then take the resulting concentrated platelets, mix them back in with your plasma, and inject the solution into your damaged tissue.

Over the weeks following your PRP treatments, your body sets to work to reduce the inflammation and initiate the rebuilding process. Gradually, you’ll become more active, without struggling with aching and painful joints.

If you’d like to explore how PRP therapy can help you, we invite you to give us a call or request an appointment using the online booking tool.

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