Platelet rich plasma injections

[CaliRobK]

I have been dealing with debilitating low back pain for about 11 years now. It has recently progressed to a point where it is really starting to negatively impact the quality of my life. In previous years I would simply rely on opiate pain killers to mask the pain. However, they seemed better suited to mask any ambition or success that I may have been pursuing and did more harm than good.

A few weeks ago I saw a new doc who did a diagnostic injection to isolate the cause of the pain. Once he knew the cause he then suggested platelet rich plasma(PRP) injections. This is where your own blood is centrifuged, the PRP is separated, and then injected into the affected area. The idea is that the growth hormones and "healing factors" secreted by the platelets will dramatically speed up healing. I have done some research and it looks promising so I wanted to reach out on here and ask if anyone has any experience with this method of treatment. If so, what were the results?

Also, my doc suggested that I take sublingual deer antler velvet for several weeks prior to the procedure. I am going to forgo using that snake oil and continue 3.33iu greytops every morning and add in 25mg MK766 at night. Are there any other peptides that would be ideal to use?

 

[jm425]

Hgh, going to see a chiro, and foam rolling have all helped with my back pain from herniated discs a lot. Good luck with the procedure and keep us updated.

 

[Kaladryn]

There is a study showing saline had the same effect as PRP injections. Turns out all the benefit (and there is benefit) is just from the needle.

 

[HimRoid]

There is a study showing saline had the same effect as PRP injections. Turns out all the benefit (and there is benefit) is just from the needle.

Like acupuncture

 

[Bio]

What has your doctor diagnosed you with?

 

[BizzyB11]

I've had PRP injections in my face for a vampire facelift and into my scalp for hair loss. I noticed absolutely no change but I'm sure there are some that experience a positive result. If theres a chance it can improve your quality of life I say go for it.

 

[CaliRobK]

What has your doctor diagnosed you with?

I have several bulged discs (L1, L2, L3 I beleive. Not sure as I cannot find my MRI right now) and abnormalities on the corresponding facet joints. I have previously been diagnosed with degenerative disc disease because of this. However, my new dr noticed that my pain was not consistent with those injuries. So he did a diagnostic injection which numbed the SI joint and relieved about 90% of my pain. Which lead him to beleive that my pain is due to instability in my SI joint.

 

[chinaboy]

Everyone has degenerative disk disease. It's called living life or aging. If your SI joint is not stable then do your Physical therapy with a good PT to find out the bio mechanical disfunction that leads to the instability. PRP can helps to heal ligaments damaged by the biomechanical disfunction but it will not fix the underlying issue; too many forces going through that area.

If the doctor put numbing medication in the SI joint and you got a lot of relief, then yes, the SI joint is involved in your pain.

 

[Floxedone]

I had fat based stem cell with PRP, it helped bring my tendons and muscles back from being immobile to being able to move again. How much was PRP and how much was stem cell I couldn't tell you.

Infrared light has shown some good results in pain relief and even "auto healing" where the herniations resolve. I use a hand held device and also a heat lamp from home depot.

The heat lamp can target the whole back and is cheaper, $15 per light fixture and $10 for the light. Infrared also calls done the nervous system and helps with pain.

Laser Therapy for Disc Herniations

http://drlwilson.com/articles/HEAT LAMP.htm


Part of what is good about PRP is that it should also do what a "water injection" will do, prolotherapy, that is restart the healing cascade through local inflammatory response. However, I have written many posts on degenerative disc issues, prolotherapy, and MMP enzymes that are responsible for the eating away of connecting tissue.

IMO MMP inhibitors PLUS infrared light will do the best to stop or slow degeneration, spur "auto healing" and strengthen joints.

 

[hardtothecore]

Look into bone marrow aspirate injections... Yields far more stem cells, healing factors, and anti inflammatory promoting cells.

 

[chinaboy]

I can also vouch for the healing ability or infrared lasers.

 

[khungus03]

I've had prp done on my SI's as well as many other places. I swear by it and it changed my life, its allowed me to keep training and doing what I love. My most recent round was in early May, I had my SI's done and my tricep which had a small tear. A week later there was no back pain or tricep pain. I realize the studies don't show anything conclusive which is why insurance calls it experimental and won't pay for it. However, there is a great deal of anecdotal evidence that suggests PRP does some pretty incredible things.

Before PRP came around I used to get prolo therapy - saline, sugar water, local anesthetic, and an inflammatory agent. This worked well but the results were relatively short lived. I was using this to cure patellar and quadriceps tendonitis as well as unbearable pain in my SI's. It would give great relief for about 6 weeks then I would have to get them done again. When I switched to PRP I got the same result of healing and no pain but the results lasted for 6 months - 2 years. This is all the evidence I need to say it's not just the effect of a needle going in and the PRP actually does have very positive effects regardless of what the studies show. One of the tough things about PRP is having someone good do it. If you get a doc who is well practiced in it and has many satisfied patients it can be very helpful while a doc who has no experience with it will likely give you no results. This is the main downfall of PRP, it has to be very exact where it goes. Doing it under ultrasound helps mitigate this but it still needs to be exact and ultrasound can be difficult to see. Also putting it in supporting structures can make a huge difference. In regard to the SI I would also have them do PSIS, medial glute, piriformis in addition to the SI. This will help strengthen and tighten everything in the area surrounding the SI and give greater support and reduction of pain.

If nay of this is not clear or you have more questions about my experience please feel free to shoot me a pm. I hope this helps.

 

[BigTex]

I have been dealing with debilitating low back pain for about 11 years now. It has recently progressed to a point where it is really starting to negatively impact the quality of my life. In previous years I would simply rely on opiate pain killers to mask the pain. However, they seemed better suited to mask any ambition or success that I may have been pursuing and did more harm than good.

A few weeks ago I saw a new doc who did a diagnostic injection to isolate the cause of the pain. Once he knew the cause he then suggested platelet rich plasma(PRP) injections. This is where your own blood is centrifuged, the PRP is separated, and then injected into the affected area. The idea is that the growth hormones and "healing factors" secreted by the platelets will dramatically speed up healing. I have done some research and it looks promising so I wanted to reach out on here and ask if anyone has any experience with this method of treatment. If so, what were the results?

Also, my doc suggested that I take sublingual deer antler velvet for several weeks prior to the procedure. I am going to forgo using that snake oil and continue 3.33iu greytops every morning and add in 25mg MK766 at night. Are there any other peptides that would be ideal to use?

I had that procedure done on my knee when I detached all 3 quads and the patella. I was back in the gym after 1 week doing upper body and 3 weeks doing legs. My doctor had never seen someone heal so quickly. Of course I also used GH, IGF-1 Lr3 and MGF to help the process.

Yes, skip the deer antler crap and use IGF-1 Lr3 and/or MGF. Do the injections as close to the injury as possible. May have to get someone to help in this case. You might even consider giving the BCP 157 a try too.

 

[milesanderson37]

Everyone has degenerative disk disease. It's called living life or aging. If your SI joint is not stable then do your Physical therapy with a good PT to find out the bio mechanical disfunction that leads to the instability. PRP can helps to heal ligaments damaged by the biomechanical disfunction but it will not fix the underlying issue; too many forces going through that area.

If the doctor put numbing medication in the SI joint and you got a lot of relief, then yes, the SI joint is involved in your pain.

This all day!! Don't just treat the symptoms but try to fix the cause as well. Seeing a good PT can also make you a more efficient lifter which can make your workouts more effective.

 

[CaliRobK]

This all day!! Don't just treat the symptoms but try to fix the cause as well. Seeing a good PT can also make you a more efficient lifter which can make your workouts more effective.

The entire point of having the PRP is to heal the connective tissue in the SI joint which will aid in creating stability. In conjunction with PT that should fix the problem, or at least that's the idea. Treating the symptoms would be anti-inflammatory injections or pain killers.

 

[big]

I had three tares the length of my triceps tendon,After 3 PRP injections I made a 100% recovery with no surgery.
I would give it a shot. I would have all my tendons injected but my insurance don't cover it so it $1000/ visit.

 

[Brock456]

I just had PRP done on both my knees. Hoping it helps.

 

[Pericles]

Spend your money on true stem cells and skip prp

 

[gotgame]

PRP works for specific indications... people are likely making money off you because you are in pain. Not what people wanna hear...and i know some people will swear by this and swear by that. Not going to argue it. Just look up the mechanism of action and what it can do and what it cant.

Also, the vast majority of the time the "SI" injections done in the office arent getting into the SI joint. If you are a smaller guy they can use an ultrasound and get it like a 1-2mm in the joint but its not deep unless ur using fluoro or CT.


PRP is usefull for small partialtendon tears, tendiNOSIS, some low to moderate grade ligament sprains. 99% of this other stuff is BS despite what you may hear or read. I do PRP injections in my practice and i wont do it unless there is a good indication for it. Not like many of the other guys i know in my area who will inject anything for the money.

I have been called as an expert witness a handful of times on this for both sides.

 

[Performance Based]

I have done stem + prp (1x) and prp only (3x) in my shoulders, knees and ankles.


I will say this NOT all PRP clinics are the same. Go to a Regenexx clinic. I pay 2,500$ a pop for all six joints. Dr. Movva in Dallas is where I highly recommend going.

Stem was pretty great but at 14K for the six joints it was a hard bite to swallow.

Regenexx takes nearly 40 3ML vials of blood for the six joints, the other two times they took maybe 5-6. They're centrifuge and concentration modalities are much more advanced than the other two clinics.

I have been dealing with debilitating low back pain for about 11 years now. It has recently progressed to a point where it is really starting to negatively impact the quality of my life. In previous years I would simply rely on opiate pain killers to mask the pain. However, they seemed better suited to mask any ambition or success that I may have been pursuing and did more harm than good.

A few weeks ago I saw a new doc who did a diagnostic injection to isolate the cause of the pain. Once he knew the cause he then suggested platelet rich plasma(PRP) injections. This is where your own blood is centrifuged, the PRP is separated, and then injected into the affected area. The idea is that the growth hormones and "healing factors" secreted by the platelets will dramatically speed up healing. I have done some research and it looks promising so I wanted to reach out on here and ask if anyone has any experience with this method of treatment. If so, what were the results?

Also, my doc suggested that I take sublingual deer antler velvet for several weeks prior to the procedure. I am going to forgo using that snake oil and continue 3.33iu greytops every morning and add in 25mg MK766 at night. Are there any other peptides that would be ideal to use?