Platelet-Rich Plasma Therapy for Back Pain
Chronic back pain is a debilitating condition that has a devastating impact on your daily life. Back pain can have many different causes, and most of them are musculoskeletal in nature. With nearly one hundred individual joints, the spine is one of the most common sites of chronic joint pain.
Spinal joints may become damaged due to injury, osteoarthritis, or disc degeneration.
Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy can promote natural healing in the spinal joints, easing your pain and improving function and mobility in the spine.
What is Platelet-Rich Plasma?
Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is a mixture of your own blood that can injected directly into the joints to stop cartilage degeneration and stimulate the healing process. PRP contains a high concentration of blood cells called platelets. Platelets are the cells that allow blood to clot, and they aid your body’s natural healing processes.
Advanced Protein Plasma (APP)
Nuvo Spine has developed its own trademarked blend of PRP, called Advanced Protein Plasma. In addition to wound-healing platelets, APP is packed full of natural anti-inflammatories and biological proteins that guard joints against progressive degeneration.
APP also contains fewer white blood cells than most PRP mixtures. White blood cells have been shown to hinder healing in joints and cartilage. Our APP is specially formulated to treat chronic back pain due to arthritis and other degenerative joint diseases.
How Does PRP Therapy Treat Chronic Back Pain?
PRP therapy promotes healing in damaged vertebral joints.
Once PRP is injected into the targeted area, it releases growth factors that stimulate your natural immune response. Stem cells flood to the site of the injection, where they begin to multiply and differentiate, replacing damaged cartilage with brand new tissue.
PRP heals spinal damage from the inside-out, restoring function and mobility to your spine.
Platelet-Rich Plasma Injections: what to expect
At your appointment, your doctor will perform a comprehensive physical assessment, locating the precise sources of pain in your back. Common sites of spinal pain include the thoracic (upper back) and lumbar (low back) regions.
Once the source of your pain is identified, the PRP mixture will be created using your own blood. The doctor will draw your blood, then spin it in a centrifuge to separate the plasma, producing a natural plasma mixture with a high concentration of platelets.
The platelet-rich mixture is then re-injected into the painful area. This can be performed using only a local anesthetic, in about an hour. You can go home the same day of the procedure.
Will I need additional PRP injections?
Chronic back pain varies from patient to patient. The number of PRP injections you will need depends highly on the severity of your condition, and how well your body responds to the treatment.
Some patients feel better after one PRP injection, while others will need up to four injections to see optimal results.
