The more sophisticated the medical world, of course, makes the way of treatment for various diseases continues to develop. One of them is platelet rich plasma (PRP). Did you know that PRP therapy is often used for healing injuries to beauty? Let’s see the explanation.
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What is platelet rich plasma?
Reported from WebMD, platelet rich plasma therapy or PRP for short is often used to treat injuries to maintain skin health. Plasma is the liquid part of your own blood which is made of water and protein.
This allows white and red blood cells and platelets to move through the bloodstream. Then for platelets are a type of blood cell that makes your blood clot. These platelets also play a role in the healing process.
Doctors generally use PRP to treat injuries or damage to tendons, ligaments, muscles, joints, and skin.
You may have heard about the injury suffered by one of the athletes like Tiger Woods. The method used to treat his injury, Tiger Woods underwent PRP injections. Of course this injection uses blood from your own body.
PRP therapy process
In order to collect the plasma, the doctor will take blood from the body, using a machine to separate the platelet plasma from the rest of the blood.
The doctor uses a needle to inject plasma into the area of ​​the body that needs to be treated. For example, if you are being treated for a muscle injury, the doctor will inject plasma into several locations in the muscle.
PRP injections usually take around 30 minutes, although the actual process depends on the difficulty of the area being addressed.
Usually after you get a PRP injection, you will feel pain and bruising at the injection site. If you are currently taking ibuprofen or aspirin, you should stop taking these drugs before doing PRP.
Multiple functions of PRP therapy for injury and cosmetic
PRP injection is used to treat torn tendons, tendinitis, muscle injuries, arthritis-related pain, and joint injuries. Here are some injuries that can be treated with PRP:
1. Muscle and ligament injuries
Usually muscle and ligament injuries are often experienced by athletes. This injury is a condition in which the muscle hamstrings on the thighs and knees pulled due to sprains.
Until now, many athletes have used PRP therapy, but unfortunately there is no scientific evidence that confirms that this type of therapy is effectively used in a faster healing process.
2. Torn tendons
In general, PRP is used to assist several types of surgery. Usually most often used during shoulder surgery to repair torn tendons.
Not only that, PRP is also used to treat torn knee ligaments. Especially on the part anterior cruciate ligament.
However, as previously explained, there is no scientific evidence that PRP can effectively treat these injuries.
Not only that, nowadays PRP is also often used for cosmetic procedures as well. For example, dermatologists and hair replacement specialists use PRP injections to treat types of hair loss.
In addition, some dermatologists provide PRP treatments for the face to maintain healthy skin.
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PRP influence
According to the explanation from WebMDHowever, several studies have shown that PRP does indeed speed up healing after injury or surgery for certain conditions, such as a torn tendon.
It can take several weeks for PRP injection to start working on the body. Some conditions, particularly those affecting the hair or skin, may take up to 6 months to see an effect.
Including the use of PRP for hair loss, you may need to use it regularly to get maximum results.
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