So far, in part one and part two of my four-part series on injections for joint pain, I covered hyaluronic acid, and PRP. In this article, I’ll talk a little about those two subjects and cover the third type of injection, which is PRF.
In the last articles, I wrote about hyaluronic acid, a lubricant – gel cushion for degenerative knee joints with osteoarthritis. Today, I’d like to also mention that there have been studies done on hyaluronic acid and PRP together. This combination allows patients to feel less pain much quicker by adding the cushion – gel to the joint along with injecting the PRP. There are different methods by which this can be done. In a recent randomized clinical trial of 384 patients, 92.7% experienced a 50% or greater reduction of pain and improvement of activities of daily living function in a single course of treatment. The PRP is added at the same time of the hyaluronic acid in a specific order. We find, as the studies are reporting, that patients get quicker and longer lasting relief from their course of hyaluronic injections with PRP as a result.
In this article, I’ll talk about another method of a regenerative treatment that comes from the patient’s own blood. This one is PRF, or platelet rich fibrin. As I mentioned before, PRP actually causes inflammation in the joint on purpose. There are certain conditions where this is indicated and works very well. PRP is turned into a gel by a specific process done in the office inside an incubator. This gel can be used for effective treatments for tendons and other musculoskeletal conditions. Regarding causing inflammation on purpose, there are other conditions where this is not indicated. In these conditions, PRF is recommended. PRP is not suggested to be used where there is enough swelling in a joint to be drained. The fluid swelled joints should be drained prior to the PRP treatment. This is generally not done on the same visit. PRF can be used instead as it does not cause the inflammation that PRP does.
PRF is also a very effective treatment for aesthetics. Injections into the skin not only provides volume like the popular facial fillers, but PRF gel is actually helping to grow collagen and assist in adding additional structure to the aging face. Interestingly, the face will look naturally fuller and younger in approximately 10 months than it would have after receiving traditional facial fillers that do not assist in collagen production.
These PRF procedures are somewhat newer than the PRP that has been out since the 1980’s, however PRF has still been around for the last 20 years. My injectors have been trained in these new techniques for quite a while, and have been able to help patients avoid joint surgery and surgical facelifts.
For a complimentary consultation to see PRP or PRF are treatments that may work for you, please call my office for an appointment.
For any questions regarding my articles, please email me at [email protected]
Leisa-Marie Grgula, D.C.
Chiropractic Physician
Accurate Care Medical Wellness Center
18261 N. Pima Rd. Ste # 115
Scottsdale, AZ 85255
480-584-3955
