What to Expect

You will first meet with Dr. Samanta ND for an initial consultation where you will discuss your medical history, health concerns and goals.

If you are a candidate for the therapy, a comprehensive health plan will be developed and the PRP procedure will be scheduled with specific preparation and recovery information.
Follow up assessments are required to measure progress and health plan compliance.

The Procedure: A small sample of blood will be drawn and placed in a centrifuge. Using specialized apparatus the centrifuge spins the blood to separate the platelet rich plasma from the red blood cells.
The PRP is then extracted. The affected site is sterilised and slightly numbed. The PRP is then injected into the affected site. Depending on the injury, multiple injections are required to target the affected site.

Research Articles Regarding PRP

1.   PRP for knee Osteoarthritis (OA):

“Intra-articular injection of PRP is an effective and safe method for treatment of knee OA.”

“There were statistically significant differences in…  crepitus, tenderness at the joint line, limited ROM, duration of inactivity stiffness [quality of life]; VAS score and IKDC score, synovial hypertrophy, and a decrease in the number of patients having increased Doppler activity”  

HassanAS et al (2015). Effectiveness of the intra-articular injection of platelet rich plasma in the treatment of patients with primary knee osteoarthritis. The Egyptian Rheumatologist, 37(3), 119–124. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejr.2014.11.004

2.   Comparison of PRP to Corticosteroids injections for knee Osteoarthritis:

“A single PRP intra-articular injection is effective for relieving pain and improving activities of daily living and quality of life in late-stage knee OA.”

“Based on our results and noting that most published studies observed that PRP effectiveness lasts 6 to 12 months on average, we might consider more than 1 PRP IAI to treat late-stage knee OA.”

“current studies have changed the prescribing pattern, using IAI [intra-articular injection… such as PRP] as a first-line treatment because it has proven effectiveness for pain with fewer side effects than some oral medications.

JubertMJ et al (2017). Platelet-Rich Plasma Injections for Advanced Knee Osteoarthritis, The Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine, 5(2), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1177/2325967116689386

3.   PRP for Shoulder Arthritis:

Kothari, S. Y., Srikumar, V., & Singh, N. (2017). Comparative Efficacy of Platelet Rich Plasma Injection, Corticosteroid Injection and Ultrasonic Therapy in the Treatment of Periarthritis Shoulder. Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research, 11(5), 15–18. https://doi.org/10.7860/JCDR/2017/17060.9895

4.   PRP for Arthritis at the molecular level:

“PRP has a major role in modulating all the factors playing a role in the disease mechanism leading to cartilage degradation and perpetuating inflammations“

“the activation of the resident stem cells will push them to differentiate into new articular cartilage restoring the defect caused by the disease.”

“PRP increased significantly the proliferation of chondrocytes, decreased apoptosis and increased autophagy and its markers along with its regulators… in osteoarthritic chondrocytes.  Furthermore, PRP caused a dose-dependent significant decrease in MMP3, MMP13, and ADAMTS-5, IL-6 and COX-2 while increasing TGF-β, aggregan, and collagen type 2, TIMPs and intracellular IL-4, IL-10, IL-13.”

MoussaM et al (2017). Platelet rich plasma (PRP) induces chondroprotection via increasing autophagy, anti-inflammatory markers, and decreasing apoptosis in human osteoarthritic cartilage. Experimental Cell Research, 352(1), 146–156. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yexcr.2017.02.012

5.   Review article of PRP for knee Osteoarthritis:

Shen, L., Yuan, T., Chen, S., Xie, X., & Zhang, C. (2017). The temporal effect of platelet-rich plasma on pain and physical function in the treatment of knee osteoarthritis : systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery and Research, 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13018-017-0521-3