PRP Injections for Back Pain

PRP Injections for Back Pain in San Antonio, TX

PRP Clinic in San Antonio, TX specialized in Treatment of Back Pain

Living with chronic back pain means an unending journey to find relief. You may have tried yoga, acupuncture, medications, or physical therapy. But none of these have provided long-lasting pain relief.

PRP Clinic at The Golab Center for Back & Joint Relief offers an alternative — platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections for chronic back pain. PRP is a revolutionary therapy that uses your own blood to stimulate healing so you can address the pain directly at the source.

Understanding Back Pain

Back pain is a common, frustrating problem for both patients and doctors. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), low back pain is responsible for more disability around the world than any other condition.1 In one study, approximately 25% of U.S. adults reported experiencing low back pain in the prior 3 months.1

If you suffer from back pain, your doctor may have prescribed a wide variety of treatments, including:

  • Pain medication
  • Physical therapy or chiropractic manipulations
  • Acupuncture
  • Cognitive behavioral therapy
  • Spine surgery
  • Steroid injections

These treatments are often effective at relieving pain, but the results are usually temporary.2,3,4,5 The efficacy and safety of spine surgery is still debated, with some experts saying the majority of patients don’t benefit from it.5

A recently published meta-analysis also found that most pain medications are ineffective at improving function.6 Most come with undesirable side effects and some, like opioids, have an additional risk of being addictive.

What none of these therapies do is target the root cause of your pain – the damage or degeneration of your spinal disc.

PRP Injections: Use Your Own Body to Heal

When you’re injured, your body sets off a complex cascade of events that heal your wound and restore normal function.

A critical player in this process is your platelets.

Damaged blood vessels send out a signal to platelets, which respond by traveling to the site of injury and calling other platelets to help. To stop blood flow, they change into their “active” form, developing octopus-like tentacles that allow them to stick to one another and form a clot.

Experts believe platelets can be used for medical needs beyond blood clotting.

That’s because platelets contain bioactive proteins and chemicals called growth factors, which play significant roles in tissue regeneration and healing.7,8

A key characteristic of platelets is that they recruit and release various chemicals, like cytokines, that control inflammatory responses.9 Platelets can also guide stem cells to an injury and promote their transformation into new, healthy tissue.10

These healing processes occur naturally in your body. The problem is, they don’t always occur at the intensity we need them.

This is where platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy comes in.

Like a fertilizer that fast-tracks plant growth, PRP contains high concentrations of platelets – at least 2 times the concentration found in whole blood – suspended in a small amount of plasma. The higher platelet concentration means its ability to promote healing is also much stronger.7

Does PRP Help with Back Pain?

Results from early clinical studies indicate immense potential of PRP injections for back pain, especially for back pain caused by disc degeneration.

One study of patients with low back pain showed that PRP treatment led to significant decreases in pain after just one month. More significantly, the pain reduction was sustained throughout the 6-month follow-up period.11 Similar results were observed in other clinical trials.12,13

Another clinical trial of patients with unresolved back pain showed that those who received two and three PRP injections experienced ~46% and ~55% improvements in their pain, respectively. They also reported being able to perform daily activities with less difficulty.14

A review of several studies found that PRP not only reduces pain but can also counteract disc degeneration.15

Other benefits of PRP therapy include:

  • No anesthesia required
  • Low risk of immune reaction or disease transmission
  • Increased function and range of motion
  • Shorter recovery time compared to surgery
  • Reduced inflammation
  • Short, outpatient procedure

How the PRP Procedure Works

The PRP procedure is simple, convenient, and quick.

Step One Step Two Step Three Step Four
A technician will draw a small sample (about 15 cc) of blood from you, which will be placed in a tube. The vial is placed in a centrifuge, which spins the blood at high speeds. This separates the platelets from the other blood components. We remove the tube from the centrifuge and reintroduce the concentrated platelets to the plasma. Once the PRP solution is prepared, your provider will inject it into the affected area where the healing process begins.
Step One
A technician will draw a small sample (about 15 cc) of blood from you, which will be placed in a tube.
Step Two
The vial is placed in a centrifuge, which spins the blood at high speeds. This separates the platelets from the other blood components.
Step Three
We remove the tube from the centrifuge and reintroduce the concentrated platelets to the plasma.
Step Four
Once the PRP solution is prepared, your provider will inject it into the affected area where the healing process begins.

One of the biggest benefits of PRP treatment is the ability to customize the platelet concentration to fit your needs. Your provider will discuss these options with you during your appointment.

Are PRP Injections Safe?

Because PRP is made using your own blood, the risk of an adverse reaction is very low. You may experience some discomfort for a few days following the procedure, but it shouldn’t last more than a few days. Talk to your doctor about over-the-counter pain medications you can take to minimize your discomfort.

Your doctor may also recommend avoiding certain medications that can impede the healing process.

PRP Injections for Back Pain in San Antonio, TX

Chronic back pain can have a debilitating impact on your life. At PRP Clinic at The Golab Center for Back & Joint Relief, we believe you deserve a life without pain. If you’re in the San Antonio, TX area and want to see how PRP injections can help you, call (210) 405-7820 today.

Call (210) 405-7820 today to learn what PRP can do for you.


References:

  1. Acute Low Back Pain Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
    Retrieved May 3, 2022, from https://www.cdc.gov/acute-pain/low-back-pain/index.html
  2. Simmons JW, McMillin JN, Emery SF, Kimmich SJ. Intradiscal steroids. A prospective double-blind clinical trial. Spine (Phila Pa 1976). 1992 Jun;17(6 Suppl):S172-5. PMID: 1385902.
  3. Buttermann GR. The effect of spinal steroid injections for degenerative disc disease. Spine J. 2004 Sep-Oct;4(5):495-505. doi: 10.1016/j.spinee.2004.03.024. PMID: 15363419.
  4. Pauza KJ, Howell S, Dreyfuss P, Peloza JH, Dawson K, Bogduk N. A randomized, placebo-controlled trial of intradiscal electrothermal therapy for the treatment of discogenic low back pain. Spine J. 2004 Jan-Feb;4(1):27-35. doi: 10.1016/j.spinee.2003.07.001. PMID: 14749191.
  5. Bogduk N, Andersson G. Is spinal surgery effective for back pain?. F1000 Med Rep. 2009;1:60. Published 2009 Jul 27. doi:10.3410/M1-60
  6. Jiang Jiuzhou, Pan Hao, Chen Haomai, Song Liyang, Wang Yiyun, Qian Bao, Chen Pengfei, Fan Shunwu, Lin Xianfeng, Comparative Efficacy of Pharmacological Therapies for Low Back Pain: A Bayesian Network Analysis Frontiers in Pharmacology. Volume 13. 2022. https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fphar.2022.811962. DOI=10.3389/fphar.2022.811962, ISSN=1663-9812
  7. Cook CS, Smith PA. Clinical Update: Why PRP Should Be Your First Choice for Injection Therapy in Treating Osteoarthritis of the Knee. Curr Rev Musculoskelet Med. 2018;11(4):583-592. doi:10.1007/s12178-018-9524-x
  8. Sundman EA, Cole BJ, Karas V, Della Valle C, Tetreault MW, Mohammed HO, Fortier LA. The anti-inflammatory and matrix restorative mechanisms of platelet-rich plasma in osteoarthritis. Am J Sports Med. 2014 Jan;42(1):35-41. doi: 10.1177/0363546513507766. Epub 2013 Nov 5. PMID: 24192391.
  9. Mohammed S, Yu J. Platelet-rich plasma injections: an emerging therapy for chronic discogenic low back pain. J Spine Surg. 2018;4(1):115-122. doi:10.21037/jss.2018.03.04
  10. H.C. de Boer, C. Verseyden, L.H. Ulfman, J.J. Zwaginga, I. Bot, E.A. Biessen, T.J. Rabelink, and A.J. van Zonneveld. Fibrin and Activated Platelets Cooperatively Guide Stem Cells to a Vascular Injury and Promote Differentiation Towards an Endothelial Cell Phenotype
  11. Akeda K, Ohishi K, Masuda K, et al. Intradiscal Injection of Autologous Platelet-Rich Plasma Releasate to Treat Discogenic Low Back Pain: A Preliminary Clinical Trial. Asian Spine J. 2017;11(3):380-389. doi:10.4184/asj.2017.11.3.380
  12. Tuakli-Wosornu YA, Terry A, Boachie-Adjei K, Harrison JR, Gribbin CK, LaSalle EE, Nguyen JT, Solomon JL, Lutz GE. Lumbar Intradiskal Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) Injections: A Prospective, Double-Blind, Randomized Controlled Study. PM R. 2016 Jan;8(1):1-10; quiz 10. doi: 10.1016/j.pmrj.2015.08.010. Epub 2015 Aug 24. PMID: 26314234.
  13. Xuan Z, Yu W, Dou Y, Wang T. Efficacy of Platelet-rich Plasma for Low Back Pain: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. J Neurol Surg A Cent Eur Neurosurg. 2020 Nov;81(6):529-534. doi: 10.1055/s-0040-1709170. Epub 2020 May 21. PMID: 32438421.
  14. Marc Darrow, Brent Shaw, Schmidt Nicholas, Xian Li & Gabrielle Boeger | Tsai-Ching Hsu (Reviewing editor) (2019) Treatment of unresolved lower back pain with platelet-rich plasma injections, Cogent Medicine, 6:1, DOI: 10.1080/2331205X.2019.1581449
  15. Akeda K, Yamada J, Linn ET, Sudo A, Masuda K. Platelet-rich plasma in the management of chronic low back pain: a critical review. J Pain Res. 2019;12:753-767. Published 2019 Feb 25. doi:10.2147/JPR.S153085

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