PRP: A Game-Changer in Treating Arthritis

More than 50 million Americans have arthritis, a painful joint condition that restricts joint function and interferes with even the simplest activities. Because it’s a degenerative condition, arthritis symptoms typically worsen over time, leading to more severe discomfort and disability.

While joint replacement surgery may be recommended for severely damaged joints, platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy can help joints repair themselves naturally, ideally avoiding the need for surgery in the future.

At Mid-Jersey Orthopaedics, our team offers PRP therapy focused on relieving arthritis symptoms and preventing future joint damage. In this post, learn about PRP’s role in arthritis management and how it could help protect your joints.

The basics of arthritis

Joints form where two or more bones come together. The ends of these bones are protected by a thick, slick layer of cartilage that protects the bones when you move your joints and also promotes smooth movement.

Arthritis is a degenerative joint disease that causes the joint surfaces to wear away over time. As the cartilage layer diminishes, friction inside the joint increases, leading to inflammation and additional joint damage.

Cartilage doesn’t contain blood vessels, which means it takes much longer to heal itself once it’s damaged. In the meantime, increasing friction inside the joint impedes cartilage healing, leading to increased damage and mounting pain and stiffness.

The science behind PRP

Like its name implies, platelet-rich plasma is a blood-derived product that contains two essential components of blood: plasma, which is the liquid part of blood, and platelets, cell fragments that contain highly specialized proteins called growth factors. 

Platelets play a critical role in healing, promoting clotting following a cut, bruise, or similar injury. Growth factors also aid in healing by triggering the growth of new, healthy tissue to replace tissue damaged by the injury.

PRP treatment begins with a blood draw to extract a small sample of your own blood. The blood is placed in a special device designed to separate the plasma and platelets from the rest of your blood (like the red and white blood cells, for instance). 

Once separated, the concentrated combination of platelets and plasma is injected into the site of injury, spurring natural healing processes and triggering the growth of new, healthy tissue.

PRP for arthritic joints

PRP injections offer multiple benefits for arthritis joints. First, injecting PRP creates tiny “microinjuries” that help stimulate the early stages of natural healing. When the joint senses an injury, localized tissues release chemicals that initiate healing, making the joint receptive to PRP’s effects.

PRP’s growth factors kick in, triggering healthy tissue development to replace damaged joint tissue and restore the damaged joint surface over time. Finally, PRP’s unique combination helps reduce inflammation inside the joint, slowing down the cartilage destruction process and giving the joint time to regenerate and heal.

Not only can PRP aid in restoring arthritic joints, but because it uses your own blood, there’s no risk of allergy or rejection — and the injection process is far less invasive than knee surgery, too. Plus, like medications, PRP can be “dosed,” with therapy tailored to your unique needs. Injections can be repeated, too, to prolong, enhance, and maintain benefits.

It’s important to note that because PRP triggers natural healing responses, it can take a few months for joint repair and recovery to occur. For a couple of weeks after your injections, you’ll need to restrict certain activities, like strenuous exercise or weight-bearing activities, to protect the joint and avoid extra strain on the joint surface.

Learn how PRP can help your joints

As a leading orthopaedics practice in North Jersey, Mid-Jersey Orthopaedics offers patient-centered, state-of-the-art therapies for arthritis, including PRP therapy at our locations in Flemington, Bridgewater, and Washington, New Jersey. 

To learn more about PRP and other therapies that can relieve arthritis pain and help protect your joints in the future, request an appointment online or over the phone with the team at Mid-Jersey Orthopaedics today.