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Platelet Rich Plasma for Professional Athlete

By Roushean Richards

| May 22nd 2012 | Views:

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Soft tissue injuries in athlete are common and are usually dealt with quite quickly and the rehabilitation goes ahead without any issues. However in some cases the injury becomes a chronic problem and the rehabilitation is prolonged resulting in absence by the athlete from competition and training. If the athlete is a professional, there is substantial money at stake and if the athlete is a professional team and maybe a key player in that team, then this can have significant impacts on the ability of the team to perform. For that reason, there is substantial pressure on the medical team to get the athlete back to training and competition. Often no money is spared on that rehabilitation. Many different health professionals are involved in the rehabilitation which includes not only the physical rehabilitation but also the psychological rehabilitation. Any athlete who cannot perform at their best in their sport is going to be at risk of psychological problems.

In this context, a lot of attention have been recently given to platelet rich plasma as a therapy to manage chronic injuries and to prevent acute injuries from becoming chronic injuries. The technique involves taking a small amount of blood from the athlete and then spinning that blood at high speed in a centrifuge to spate the components of the blood. Once this is complete, the platelets are separated out (the platelet rich plasma) and injected into the site of the injury that the athlete has. The theory that underpins this treatment is that the platelets will release growth factors that can stimulate healing. There is plenty of testimonials from athletes and their team doctors as to how well this works and many professional teams are now using the platelet rich plasma routinely in their injured athletes.

The research on platelet rich plasma injections in athlete is not totally clear. Some of the studies are showing that it works and other studies are showing that it doesn’t work. Some of the studies that show it worked have questioned the cost benefit of the technique compared to other possible methods to treat soft tissue injuries. This means that if you take all the studies together, there is no clear guidance if it should be used routinely or not or even those who will benefit the most from the therapy. All this does not necessarily mean that the athlete in the professional teams will not use it as they cannot afford to leave any stone unturned in their rehabilitation.

Roushean Richards - About Author:
Platelet rich plasma is a blood plasma enriched with platelets that can stimulate the healing of bones and soft tissues. If you want to know more information about this, you can visit this website.

http://www.medicalreleasesonline.info/musculoskeletal/platelet-rich-plasma-does-it-work/

http://www.podiatrybooks.co.uk/platelet-rich-plasma/149/