Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP)
The Best and Affordable PRP in Northern Virginia
PRP Orthopedic doctor in Fairfax VA and rest of Northern Virginia. Our PRP is affordable and has shown to work on joint pain such as knee, elbow, hip, and shoulder and other injuries such as tendon tears, ligament injuries, and nerve pain.
Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) procedure is a safe, non-surgical procedure that can be performed in the office. PRP has a faster return-to-play time than surgical procedures and is becoming more popular among athletes as a preferred treatment for pain or post injury treatment. Best of all, it uses the body's own regenerative power to promote healing. PRP has shown to be effective against joint pain caused by arthritis.
Benefits of PRP
In-Office Procedure, Faster Recovery than Surgery
All Natural, Uses Body's Own Healing Power
Treats Acute and Chronic Issues
Affordable Compared to Surgical Procedures
Why Choose PRP?
Regenerative medicine therapies are becoming more popular as studies come out to support the benefits. In fact, many of these therapies have been gaining in popularity since the 1990s, especially the Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) procedure. Regenerative therapies are safe, non-surgical procedures that can be done in the office. They have a faster return-to-play time than surgical procedures and are becoming more popular among athletes as a preferred treatment. Many professional athletes in the NBA, NFL, and other leagues are using Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) therapy to heal chronic tendon injuries, reduce pain, and allow for return to play within a few weeks. Dwight Howard of the NBA recently joined the many professional athletes in PRP treatment for his knee.
PRP Orthopedic Doctor Fairfax VA
VSMD Approach
We offer the best PRP in Fairfax and rest of Northern Virginia. PRP is a type of regenerative medicine refers to a group of treatment options that uses substances from your own body to help heal itself. Through these procedures, VSMD can help your body heal acute or chronic issues and injuries. The procedures are aimed at enhancing and healing injuries to bone, muscle, cartilage, tendons, ligaments, and other soft tissues. Since regenerative medicine is minimally invasive, there is little to no downtime while on your way to recovery.
How does regenerative medicine work?
Imagine that aching pain you get in your shoulder. It gets worse the more you use it. It feels slightly better when you rest it. It’s stiff and painful in the morning time. Maybe you take advil (NSAID) when the pain is bad, ice the area after using it, or even avoid using that arm due to pain. You’ve learned to function with this injury.
But what if there was a way to reduce or even get rid of this pain?
That’s where regenerative medicine and VSMD come into play. With regenerative medicine, VSMD will use your body’s own products to enhance a healing process. Regenerative medicine treatments are natural and minimally invasive. They involve having your blood or bone marrow sample taken. The sample gets spun down in a machine called a centrifuge. The healing factors are separated during this process and then injected into the site of injury. Like all of our injections, these are also done with ultrasound imaging. Ultrasound imaging enables directed and precise therapy. This procedure jumpstarts your body’s healing process by supplying nutrient rich products to the injured area.
PRP can help early stage Osteoarthritis of the Knee (sample video)
Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) Benefits
Benefits of PRP
Stimulate the healing process by using natural components from your body
Faster recovery compared to surgery or other invasive procedures
Enhanced healing and reduced pain by addressing the root cause rather than symptoms
Reduce risks of future injuries by strengthening and tightening tendons and ligaments
Increase mobility by triggering production of healthy tissue that strengthens surrounding tendons and ligaments
Types of Regen Techniques
Viscosupplementation
Prolotherapy
Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP)
Bone Marrow Aspirate Concentrate (BMAC)
Lipogen (Microfragmented Adipose)
Best Suited for
Joint Pain
Osteoarthritis
Muscle Injuries
Tendon Injuries
Ligament Tears and Injuries
Tendonopathies
Bursitis
Nerve injuries
Regenerative Medicine Uses Natural Components from the Body to Heal Problem Areas
Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP)
In the musculoskeletal system, collagenous tissue, such as tendons, ligaments and cartilage, have extremely poor blood supply, which gives them their whitish appearance. Because of the important role blood plays in the process of healing, these tissues heal slowly and often incompletely. Blood contains amazing healing power with many types of cells working to maintain the health of the entire body. Plasma, the liquid portion of blood, acts primarily as a transport medium for blood cells, nutrients, and waste products. It contributes to the physiologic stability of the body. Plasma is mostly water, but also contains proteins that reduce pain and inflammation. Plasma also contains special blood cells that remove damaged tissue and clean injured areas in preparation for the healing process.
PRP treatments help the body’s natural healing process by directing large quantities of activated platelets to the site of injury. The platelets stimulate activation of localized cells and promote a healing response in surrounding tissue. The induced inflammation causes the body to deposit collagen molecules on damaged tissue.
This healing response also stimulates the production of new blood vessels that continue to feed the damaged tissue. Many patients feel pain relief within weeks of the procedure. Follow-up injections can boost the initial treatment for increased healing and pain relief. Growth factors contained in the platelets and plasma stimulate blood flow, promote matrix formation of soft tissue, and restore tendons and ligaments. Cartilage, ligaments, and tendons heal to become more firm and more resilient.
Prolotherapy
Prolotherapy is short for proliferative therapy. This injection is used to treat pain caused by damaged ligaments, tendons, and other soft tissues. Prolotherapy typically is done with a “sugar water” solution, dextrose. The dextrose stimulates the body to release healthy healing and growth factors. The prolotherapy solution is injected under ultrasound imaging, to ensure precise pain and injury treatment. Often, these injections are done in a series for optimal healing response.
Bone Marrow Aspirate Concentrate
BMAC therapy is a regenerative treatment that uses your body’s own bone marrow cells to jumpstart the healing process. This procedure can be done in the office. A sample of bone marrow is taken from the body, usually the hip bone. The sample is then spun down in a centrifuge to separate out the healing cells. The BMAC is then injected into the injured area under ultrasound imaging.
Lipogen
Microfragmented adipose therapy is a regenerative treatment that uses your own body’s fat cells to jumpstart the healing process. This procedure can be done in the office. A small fat sample is taken from the body, usually the buttocks or abdomen. The sample is then washed in a specialized solution. The solution removes oils and inflammatory cells, leaving behind cells and other factors that are critical to the healing process. The sample is then injected under ultrasound imaging into the affected area.
Frequently Asked Questions
PRP Orthopedic Doctor Fairfax VA - Platelet-Rich Plasma Explained
Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) Therapy is a minimally invasive non-surgical treatment that improves pain and function without surgery. Platelets are a specialized type of blood cells that are involved in injury healing and regeneration.
There are numerous clinical studies showing PRP may improve pain and function in a variety of orthopedic injuries, osteoarthritis and may eliminate the need for more aggressive treatments, such as long-term medications or surgery.
Platelets store growth factors that help with healing, and when injected directly into injured tissue, they stimulate and enhance the body’s own healing response.
At our clinic, the end-to-end PRP is performed by a board-certified doctor. At other clinics, we have seen PRP performed by either a nurse or a third-party health worker. Our doctors first diagnose and pin-point the source of the issue that requires treatment and use ultrasound imaging as guidance to inject PRP to the affected area. Without this expertise, an issue might be left untreated.
Commercial and Government insurance plans do not cover the cost of the PRP procedure. It is an out of pocket cost for the patient.
PRP has been used for decades by professional athletes to avoid surgery and minimize recovery time. Despite growing evidence and studies, PRP is considered “experimental” by most insurance plans and most plans do not cover PRP therapy. Health Saving Accounts and Flexible Spending Accounts can be used towards the payment of the procedure,
Currently, the only insurance company covering PRP injections is Tricare (military insurance) for the treatment of tennis elbow (common extensor tendinopathy) and mild to moderate knee osteoarthritis.
The patient’s out of pocket cost for the PRP injection is $750 per injection.
Other practices in the Fairfax, Reston, Tysons area charge over $1200 per injection.
We use musculoskeletal ultrasound imaging to pinpoint the issue area. Ultrasound is used to guide the needle to inject the plasma in the precise location.
PRP injections are performed with the use of numbing medication. Patients will typically feel a pressure during the injecting. Mild to moderate swelling or soreness can occur at the injection site and these effects typically resolve within a few days to a week. Depending on the site of the injection, the pain is similar to other common injections such as flu or allergy injections.
Most patients will need only one procedure with some patients requiring repeat injection. Studies of tennis elbow have shown that 85-95% of patients have complete relief of their pain with one injection.
Some studies show that multiple injections may be beneficial due to the severity of the injury, arthritis or other issues. In our clinic, we use a high-dose double spin platelet method to try to minimize the need for repeat injections.
We use musculoskeletal ultrasound imaging to identify the area with injury, tendonitis, arthritis, tear, or another issue. This ultrasound image is similar to monitor a baby during pregnancy. But in our case, we are looking at musculoskeletal areas such as muscles, tendons, ligaments, and other affected areas. Once the area is identified, the ultrasound machine is then used to guide the needle for the injection. Compared to other imaging, ultrasound is safe and highly effective and does not produce radiation.
Progress after the PRP is individual dependent. PRP usually takes three to four months to do its job thoroughly. Patients usually experience results 12-16 weeks after the procedure. Depending on the severity of the issue, a patient may require repeat PRP injection or another form of regenerative therapy to accompany the PRP. PRP is not a quick fix but treats the root cause of the issue by regeneration for a longer term healing.
If you are ready to PRP or need additional guidance, the next step is to schedule a consult by filling out the appointment form by clicking here. During the consult, the doctor will examine the issue and let you know if PRP is a preferred treatment option compared to other treatments available to you.