Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) Therapy is a form of orthobiologics that uses your body’s own natural growth factors to amplify and accelerate your body’s ability to heal tissue.
How does Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) work?
Plasma is the liquid portion of blood and makes up about 55% of our blood. It is 92% water, and acts as a medium for several cells, including white blood cells, red blood cells, and platelets to flow through our blood stream. Platelets are cells that assist in creating blood clots, but also have growth factors and proteins that can speed up the body’s tissue repair process.
During a platelet rich plasma (PRP) therapy procedure, a physician will draw anywhere from one to a few tubes of blood from the patient and run the blood through a centrifuge. A centrifuge rapidly spins the vials of blood to concentrate different cells into different sections of the tube, allowing the physician to collect the platelet concentrate from the tube with a syringe.
The physician can then inject this platelet concentrate solution or “platelet-rich plasma”, into the desired site to accelerate regeneration. Sometimes this procedure is also paired with ultrasound guidance, to improve accuracy and confidence that the injection was delivered to the intended site.
Altogether, the procedure typically takes about 30 minutes.
What conditions can be treated with Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP)?
Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) Therapy has been used to treat a wide variety of conditions, including tendinitis, torn tendons, muscle injuries, joint injuries, and arthritis-related pain. PRP has also been used for cosmetic conditions such as hair loss and skin conditions.
How much does PRP cost?
In Seattle PRP ranges from $600-$1,000 per injection depending on the clinic and what/where the PRP is being injected.
How many treatments are required?
Most Seattle area providers do one injection and see how things improve before deciding on additional injections. Again, depending on the body location as well as the provider, 1-4 injections may be performed.
What are the side effects of Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) therapy?
Generally, serious side effects like infection or tissue damage are extremely low, but pain at the injection site can be moderate, especially when injecting soft tissues like tendons
Where can I get Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) therapy in Seattle?
Virginia Mason Sports Medicine Department has an excellent team of physician’s who can provide ultra-sound guided Platelet Rich Plasma therapy.
We recommend Dr. Henry (Hank) Pelto, team physician for the Seattle Kraken and Seattle Mariners, as well as Dr. William Callahan, team physician for Seattle Sounders FC, as great PRP therapy providers.
You can call their clinic to make an appointment at (206) 341-3000
Michael Domingo, DPT, OCS
This post was written by Dr. Michael Domingo in January of 2022.
Learn more about Mike on our about page: https://gopt.co/people/michael-domingo/
Special thanks to Dr. William Callahan
and to Dr. Henry (Hank) Pelto for contributing to this blog post
