Regenerative Medicine: Re-Growing Body Parts
MAKOplasty Robotic Knee Surgery
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Platelet Rich Plasma Therapy
Tiger Woods was seen at a press conference prior to the Masters tournament stirring up more gossip, but surprisingly enough, this time the focus of the brouhaha was on an orthopedic therapy.
Rumors had spread that Woods might have used human growth hormone while recovering from knee surgery, but the golfer was quick to clarify that what he actually received was platelet rich plasma (PRP) therapy. A treatment that although not scandalous is not without controversy either. This wouldn't be the first time Woods received PRP was in 2008 he chose to use PRP after reconstructive surgery for an ACL tear and torn Achilles' tendon.
This 20-year-old blood therapy has been making headlines recently as popular athletes are turning to the procedure for more and more novel therapies. Most recently Seattle Mariners pitcher Cliff Lee used PRP for a strained abdomen, an unusual break from the standard tennis elbow and hamstring pulls that PRP generally is prescribed for.
But it's not just major athletes using PRP. The procedure is also catching on with amateurs and looking rather appealing to insurance companies because of its small price tag (about $2,000) compared to the cost of surgery.
Dr. Steven Sampson, a board-certified physical medicine and rehabilitation doctor and founder of The Orthobiologic Institute says PRP operates under the concept that platelets have the potential to release healing proteins known as growth factors. To make the PRP injection, a patient's own blood is drawn and spun in a centrifuge, concentrating platelets, which are then injected back to the injury site.
These proteins may then accelerate tissue and wound healing. When the concentration of platelets is increased this might boost growth factors and tissue recovery, with promise for healing potential in tendon injuries and osteoarthritis. So far no obvious risk factors have been noted.
Dr. Sampson describes PRP as an emerging treatment in the new health sector of "Orthobiologics."
This is not a cure all. We are in the process of doing research to learn which ailments do better with PRP, but this is the first generation of orthobiologics.
PRP's efficacy though continues to be in question. "It takes years to do a study and money, so it's difficult with limited funds and resources, hopefully soon the data will catch up."
And the examination of PRP may also provide better understanding of certain orthopedic conditions. "We are seeing," explains Sampson, "that arthritis isn't just bone grinding on bone and treatment isn't just about controlling inflammation, it's about restoring the normal joint fluid. The environment needs to be correct."
Sampson is the principal investigator for an FDA-approved study for the Recover Kit which uses PRP for chronic elbow tendinosis. The study, which is halfway complete, is the largest study of the therapy and includes data from nearly a dozen centers nationwide. Sampson has also conducted a smaller study on PRP in the treatment of knee osteoarthritis, with 12 months of data being collected. So in the near future the controversy over PRP may be finally settled.