Overcoming Tendonitis: How PRP Works to Accelerate Healing in Injured Tissues

Your tendons have a lot of work to do to stabilize you as they propel you through your day. As the tissue that connects muscle to bone, they have to withstand quite a bit of force. They absorb shock and enable movement, too. In other words, your tendons play a key role in your body. 

It’s not a surprise, then, that they can run into problems. Too much stress on a tendon can lead to inflammation, which is called tendonitis. You might have pain, stiffness, or tenderness in the area once this issue comes into play. 

In a lot of cases, sufficient rest allows the tendon to heal. But if your tendonitis isn’t healing like it should — or if you’re in a hurry — Dr. Jonathan Carlson offers treatment to help. With platelet-rich plasma (PRP), he helps people on the Windward side of O’ahu in Kailua by giving them a way to support faster healing. 

Visit us at Hawai’i Pain and Spine to see if PRP could be right for your tendonitis. 

Understanding the healing power of platelets

Platelet-rich plasma is, as its name suggests, matter that contains a lot of platelets. Your platelets spring into action when you get hurt. If you get cut, for example, platelets enable your blood to clot. 

But that’s not their only role. Platelets also contain growth factors. These stimulate your body’s natural healing mechanisms. As the PRP supplies the treated area with growth factors, it helps your body make the cells it needs to heal your tendon. 

A recent systematic review and meta-analysis looked at multiple studies that applied PRP to Achilles tendinopathy. It found that at the 12-week mark after treatment, people who got this kind of care reported a statistically significant reduction in their pain levels as measured by the Visual Analog Scale (VAS). It also noted that people who got PRP therapy scored better on the Victorian Institute of Sport Assessment-Achilles (VISA-A) scale and returned to exercise faster. 

PRP is a relatively new treatment, so studies are in their early phases. Even so, evidence points to faster healing for tendonitis with platelet-rich plasma. 

What happens during PRP therapy for tendonitis

PRP is exciting because it promises faster recovery from problems like tendon inflammation. It’s also exciting, though, because it doesn’t require anything synthetic. Instead, Dr. Carlson gets the platelet-rich plasma from a small sample of your own blood.

A centrifuge allows him to separate the platelets from the other components in your blood. Once the PRP is ready, he injects it into the affected tendon. As the PRP goes to work, you should see improvement in the months that follow.

Dr. Carlson tailors a PRP therapy plan to you. You may only need one PRP treatment, or you may benefit from a few sessions spaced apart. This keeps a consistent supply of PRP in the area to support its healing.

To see what Dr. Carlson recommends for your inflamed tendon, call our office to schedule your appointment at Hawai’i Pain & Spine today.