PRP Treatment
Platelet-rich–plasma therapy (PRP), is a non-operative treatment used for musculoskeletal conditions, such as arthritis and sprains. Athletes are especially positive about this procedure and use it to treat a multitude of sporting injuries, including sprained ankles and chronic tendon strain. Despite its publicity, there’s still a lot of controversy regarding how effective PRP is. However, studies have shown promising results in the treatment of chronic tendon injuries, especially for elbow problems.
How does PRP work?
Blood is extracted from the patient and put through a centrifuge to create an effective PRP preparation. The centrifusion process involves high-speed rotation that separates platelets from other cells and increases their concentration. The patient is then injected with the separated platelets. There are various PRP kits which help facilitate easy preparation and repetition of platelet-rich plasma therapy. These kits come in different types depending on their method to collect and concentrate platelets. If you feel capable, you can even use these kits at home and administer your own PRP therapy.
PRP procedures are being experimentally used to treat hair loss. Research has demonstrated that regular PRP injections can prolong the growth cycle targerted hair follicles. Targeted scalp areas are injected with each PRP preparation. Patients will have a monthly PRP injection for the first three months of their treatment plan. These injections will extend to every couple of months for the remaining sessions. Certain patient factors, such as age and degree of hair loss will influence with number of required sessions. In some cases, you may even receive injections over a period of two years to maximise the PRP effect.
PRP for hair loss
More and more people are banking on the effectiveness of PRP since it shows clear advantages over other treatment methods. It’s a relatively long-term solution, and you don’t have to keep taking drugs such as minoxidil and finasteride to maintain the effect of prolonged hair growth.
Additionally, PRP injections are a non-surgical procedure. Therefore, you do not have to deal with the risk of substantial scarring and long recovery period seen in hair transplantation procedures. Finally, you don’t have to endure unwanted side effects, other than slight pain at the injection site. It is your own blood being reintroduced into your scalp. PRP therapy is a way of using the natural components of your own body to help with hair loss recovery.
To try this technique, there are a number of things you should keep in mind. If you have an underlying auto-immune disease like lupus that’s causing the hair loss, don’t opt for this treatment since such conditions will continue to cause hair loss after the procedure. Antiplatelet drugs or blood thinners are another factors to consider. If you are taking such drugs, the PRP injections will have greatly reduced efficacy. Additionally, ask for the procedure while the hair loss is still recent. PRP therapy may not induce hair growth in follicles that have been dormant for many years, and you may end up spending large amounts of money for minimal results.
