Your shoulders withstand heavy physical demands every day. More than a “ball and socket” joint, your shoulders are a complex arrangement of muscles, bones, and ligaments that support a wide range of motion.
Their complexity and the demands we place on them make shoulders susceptible to injuries and disease, resulting in pain.
Treating shoulder pain can be frustrating for both patients and doctors alike. The good news is you may not have to resort to surgery.
PRP Clinic at The Golab Center for Back & Joint Relief offers platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections for patients with shoulder pain. PRP is a groundbreaking therapy that allows you to use your own blood to heal your body.
Shoulder pain is one of the most common pain syndromes, affecting between 18 and 26% of adults at any time point.1 According to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, common causes of shoulder pain include:2
In many cases, shoulder pain can heal with nonsurgical treatments. Your doctor may recommend:3
While nonsurgical treatments have significant advantages over surgery, they carry the risk of the tear size increasing over time. In some cases, such as rotator cuff tendinopathies, weakened tendons never fully recover, making their management difficult.4
In recent years, PRP therapy has emerged as a potential treatment for shoulder pain.
Your blood consists of several components. Plasma, the main part, consists of water, proteins, fats, and other nutrients. Its main job is to transport these and your blood cells throughout your body. Plasma also removes waste from your cells.
Platelets are a type of blood cell well-known for their role in blood clotting. But they also play an important role in tissue healing, thanks to their large amounts of growth factor repositories. The growth factors and other bioactive proteins stimulate your body’s healing process and encourage new collagen production and scar formation.5/p>
Many of the growth factors can also combine their actions and/or interact with each other, activating different signaling pathways in your cells that boost tissue repair.6
Scientists believe the healing power of platelets can be enhanced by delivering a higher-than-normal concentration of platelets to an injured or disease area.5
In other words, platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy allows you to heal your body using your own blood.
Regenerative medicine is a relatively new field. This means PRP preparation and administration techniques can vary widely from study to study.
But results of early studies are promising.
A systematic review of eight randomized clinical trials was published in 2021, examining the safety and effectiveness of PRP injections for rotator cuff tendinopathy. The reviewed studies varied in their trial design, PRP preparation and injection techniques, and control interventions. But the investigators were still able to conclude that PRP was safe and effective for long-term pain control and shoulder function.4
Subacromial impingement syndrome is a common condition resulting from inflammation and degeneration of the shoulder tendons and muscles. In a clinical trial, 62 patients with subacromial impingement were divided into 2 groups – one group received PRP injections while the other received exercise therapy. By the 6-month follow-up appointment, the investigators found that both treatments were effective in reducing pain and disability.7
A study compared PRP injections to steroid injections in 50 patients with mild to moderate shoulder osteoarthritis. The researchers found that while both treatments improved the participants’ quality of life, there were more persistent improvements in the PRP group.8
Your provider will provide instructions on how to prepare for your appointment. Some medications like anticoagulants or NSAIDs may need to be stopped.
The entire PRP process, which includes preparation and injection, takes approximately 1 to 1.5 hours.
At PRP Clinic at The Golab Center for Back & Joint Relief, you can expect the following steps:
| Step One |
| A technician will draw a small sample 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 separate the plasma layer from the other layers which are then discarded. |
| Step Four |
| Once the PRP solution is prepared, your provider will inject it into the affected area where the healing process begins. |
Because PRP triggers a cascade of biological responses, you may experience some soreness or swelling in the injection area for a few days. We recommend taking it easy for a few days after your treatment.
Because PRP is an autologous therapy (derived from your own blood), it has an outstanding safety profile. There is no risk of an adverse reaction or disease transmission. Talk to your provider if you’re taking any medications or if you experience any severe discomfort after your injection.
When your shoulder pain makes it difficult to perform basic tasks, it’s time to seek treatment.
If you’re in the San Antonio, TX area and suffering from shoulder pain, PRP therapy may help. Call us today to learn how PRP can get you back to enjoying the activities you love.
Call today to learn what PRP can do for you.
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