Osteoarthritis Treatment with Platelet-rich Plasma (PRP)

Osteoarthritis Treatment with Platelet-rich Plasma (PRP)

What is PRP?

PRP is an abbreviation for Platelet-Rich Plasma.

When a blood vessel is damaged, platelets gather at the damaged site to stop bleeding, releasing a large amount of growth factors. These growth factors help to initiate the process of tissue repair.

PRP therapy is a treatment that utilizes the power of the growth factors contained in PRP (see below for details) to maximize a person's innate healing, tissue repair, and regeneration abilities. In addition to the long-term pain suppression effect and cartilage protection effect of the growth factors, another major advantage of PRP treatment is that it uses only your own blood, so it is unlikely to cause an immune reaction.

Generally, tissue repair occurs in 1 week to 6 months, and the appearance of effect can be expected in 2 weeks to 3 months after treatment. It is also possible to repeat the treatment.

Purpose

This treatment is performed as an alternative to surgical treatment for osteoarthritis, such as oral medication, intra-articular injections, exercise therapy, physical therapy, and surgery.

Description

This treatment method involves extracting platelet-rich plasma (PRP) from the patient's own blood and using it to treat the joint site. This is a treatment method that is less burdensome and has fewer side effects because it uses the patient's own blood, and is being actively devised in other countries as an alternative to non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, intra-articular injections of steroids and hyaluronic acid preparations, physical treatments such as exercise therapy and heat therapy, and surgical treatments such as surgery. This treatment is also being actively devised in other countries as an alternative to physical therapy, such as exercise and heat therapy, and surgical treatment such as surgery.

This therapy is expected to regenerate (repair) damaged tissues and improve pain (sharp pain) through the function of various growth factors contained in platelets, and to control sharp pain for a long period of time through repeated administration of PRP.

Anti-inflammatory substances and growth factors contained in PRP

Platelet-derived growth factors (PDGF-aa, PDGF-ab, PDGF-bb)

    Stimulates cell replication. Promotes angiogenesis, epithelial formation, and granulation tissue formation.

Transforming growth factors (TGF-β1, TGF-β2)

    Promotes extracellular matrix formation. Regulates bone cell metabolism.

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)

 Promotes angiogenesis.

Fibroblast growth factor (FGF)

 Promotes proliferation of endothelial cells and fibroblasts. Stimulates angiogenesis.

 

About the treatment method

This treatment uses a special centrifuge and special tubes, which are medical devices approved for use in human treatment. The kit to be used for the treatment will be decided after consultation with and consent from the patient.

Treatment Flow

Blood collection: 27ml or 54ml of blood is collected.

PRP separation: PRP is purified and extracted by centrifuging the collected blood using a special centrifuge and a special kit for this treatment, which is a medical device approved for use in human treatment.

Procedure: PRP is injected into the affected area.

Effects and Benefits of the Treatment

Since the patient's own blood is used, the risk of side effects such as infection and allergic reactions is extremely low.

The procedure can be easily adjusted from the patient's own blood, and can be performed as a one-day procedure.

There is no upper age limit because the treatment is completed by drawing blood and injections.

The treatment does not leave scars and can be repeated many times.

If the restorative effect is effective after a single administration, it can be expected to have a long-lasting effect on pain reduction and functional improvement.

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