Inflammatory and Healing Process:
Platelets play an important role in the body’s healing process beyond assisting the body’s clotting process. Platelets bring white blood cells to the area of injury to clean up remnants of dead or injured cells, and they release growth factors that are necessary for tissue regeneration. The inflammatory response is triggered after injury and prevents infection and debrides damaged tissue. Acute ligament ruptures lead to recruitment of various healing cells, including platelets. Unfortunately, tissue healing cannot take place until the inflammation subsides. Platelet Rich Plasma, or PRP, treatment was developed from the role that platelets play in both of these processes. Platelets release growth factors and proteins that assist with tissue healing. Therefore, PRP treatment has been promoted for tendon, ligaments, muscle, and joint injuries, which are known to be slow to heal.
Platelet Rich Plasma Therapy:
PRP facilitates the healing of bone, tendon, and ligament. It can also be used for treatment of osteoarthritis. This platelet-rich derivative of blood is obtained after a blood sample is withdrawn from a patient’s vein and separated from the other blood components after centrifugation with a specialized syringe. With this level of platelets, plasma has an abundance of the growth factors to help stimulate the healing process. When PRP is injected into damaged tendons or ligaments, it is believed that it stimulates cells in the tissue and recruits cells circulating in the blood to the injured site. Due to the use of the patient’s own blood for PRP, there is no risk of the treatment being rejected, as it might if the blood had been provided from a donor.
Sources:
-Franklin, Samuel P, MS, DVM, PhD, DACVS, DACVSMR . "Veterinarians Find Therapy Rich in Possibilities." DVM360 Magazine (2014): n. pag. Web. 20 Aug. 2014. .
-Hakhamian, Ashkan, and Alan J. Schulman. "Platelet Rich Plasma: Its Place in Cranial Cruciate Ligament Repair." Today's Veterinary Practice (2012): n. page. Web. 20 Aug. 2014. <http://www.todaysveterinarypractice.com/article.asp?articleid=T1211C02#a...