Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) injections are a non-surgical treatment used for the repair of chronic degenerative joints, ligaments and tendon injuries. This exciting technology is changing the way doctors and sports physicians treat injuries. Using your own blood, the healing elements are isolated and carefully injected into affected joints. By focusing on stabilizing painful joints and strengthening ligaments, we can accelerate your recovery and get you back to the active lifestyle you deserve.

Surgery vs. Regenerative Treatments

Sometimes joints are weakened by trauma or overuse. This may be age-related arthritis in the knees, or something more acute like a labral tear. Whenever a joint is injured, the ligaments and tendons can become stretched out, torn or fragmented which causes joints to become hypermobile. This allows misalignment of the bones in the joint, which causes pain, muscle spasms and contributes to arthritis.

New technologies and research are providing remarkable options for the treatment of orthopedic injuries using regenerative medicine. Research has shown that some surgical procedures can be beneficial in the short term, but ultimately may not provide long-term benefit. While surgery is sometimes the only option for an injury, there are many instances where there are effective alternatives. TLC The Littleton Clinic is proud to offer Platelet Rich Plasma as a non-surgical treatment option for orthopedic injuries.

How It Works

Our bodies are naturally equipped with healing mechanisms that respond to injuries – we most often see this related to swelling, pain and redness. These processes are the way your body tries to stimulate healing. Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) injections are carefully placed in areas of injury and the surrounding structures (tendons, ligaments, cartilage, etc.) and that same inflammatory response helps to repair ligament and joint issues. Because of this targeted inflammation, anti-inflammatory drugs such as aspirin or ibuprofen can “turn off” the healing mechanism and should be avoided.

Your blood is rich with platelets, growth factors, and other healing cells. The key is to isolate these elements of the blood. The process begins with drawing your blood, and then using state-of-the-art equipment the healing elements of your blood are isolated. The separation of activated platelets, growth factors and healing cells are what we call PRP. This solution is injected back into the areas of injury or breakdown. Dr. Hopp often uses ultrasound guidance to make sure the injections are targeted to the areas that need it most, ultimately improving the outcome of the procedure!

The solution does not contain any steroids like cortisone which can slow down or stop the healing process. This treatment is generally well tolerated, without any major difficulties. PRP procedures are outpatient and patients are able to return home the same day. You can expect to spend approximately 2 hours in our office. If you have a fear of needles or experience generalized anxiety related to procedures, please contact our office.

All procedures are performed by Dr. Maria Hopp who is trained and certified by the American Association of Orthopedic Medicine (AAOM).

Conditions Treated

Platelet Rich Plasma treatments can be helpful for both acute or chronic injuries. Some general conditions treated include: chronic overuse injuries (arthritis) in the ankles, knees or shoulders; chronic back pain, sacroiliac (SI) dysfunction and degenerative disc disease. More specific injuries that PRP can be helpful for include: tennis elbow, carpal tunnel syndrome, meniscus tears, labral tears (shoulder or hip), plantar fasciitis, Achilles tendinitis and IT band syndrome.

These treatments can be administered every 3 months, and most patients find best results with 2-3 treatments of PRP. With regenerative treatments at TLC, 75-85% of patients experience improvement in their pain.

Regenerative Treatments at TLC

At TLC, we offer Prolotherapy, Platelet Rich Plasma, and Bone Marrow Aspirate injections as non-surgical options for the treatment of orthopedic injuries. One of these treatments is not necessarily better than the other, and they operate based on a similar mechanism. The primary difference between these procedures is the solution or substance that is injected – with prolotherapy we inject a glucose solution, with PRP we inject concentrated platelets from your own blood, and the third option is stem cells harvested from your bone marrow. Deciding which treatment may be best for you can be done after evaluation by Dr. Hopp.

Platelet Rich Plasma treatment at TLC may be what you’ve been looking for! We are helping our patients avoid surgery in many cases and address the root cause of some of these injuries: unstable joints. Using state-of-the-art technology, we can help you rejuvenate your joints using the healing power of your own body. Call our office at 720-351-2411 to schedule an appointment.