What To Know About Platelet-Rich Plasma Injections

Why Do People Choose PRP Treatment?

Many people including athletes and sports personalities get platelet-rich plasma injections to help heal an injury. When these shots are based on the blood and increasingly used to treat sports injuries and help wounds heal after surgery it is also used as a cosmetic procedure that targets signs of aging such as wrinkles. 

What’s In A PRP Shot?

Part of your blood, plasma is the liquid part mostly made of water and protein, letting red and white blood cells and platelets move through the bloodstream. The blood cell, platelets make the blood clot playing a role in healing. Plasma rich platelets are used on injuries for damage to tendons, ligaments, muscles, joints, and skin. The plasma is collected from the body and uses a machine to separate the platelet-rich plasma from the rest of the blood. The doctors treat the injury with PRP injections after making the area numb. They use a needle to inject the plasma into the area that is previously made numb. 

These platelets break down and release growth actors once they are in the area that’s being treated which are compounds helping the cells repair and renew triggering the body’s healing process. 

What Can Platelet-Rich Plasma Treat?

It is known to treat torn tendons, tendinitis, muscle injuries, arthritis-related pain, and joint injuries becoming a common cosmetic procedure. Dermatologists, as well as hair replacement experts, use these injections to treat a type of hair loss called androgenic alopecia also known as male or female pattern baldness. 

Before You Get PRP Injections

It is necessary to stop taking certain medications that thin the blood like aspirin and ibuprofen before you go for PRP injections also needing to take a break from certain vitamins or supplements including omega 3 fatty acids. Even though PRP doesn’t usually cause side effects, as it involves drawing blood, make sure you eat before the procedure to avoid feeling lightheaded as you get PRP injections. 

Do not wash the treated area for 48 hours after the shot as you may notice soreness and bruising in the area that received injections and in case you feel a sharp or intense pain, let the doctor know.  

Don’t go for PRP injections in case you have :

• Abnormal platelet function or a low platelet count
• Anemia
• Cancer
• An infection

Nonsurgical Hair Loss Treatments

There have been a wide variety of new treatments introduced in the past few years to regrow the hair loss from male pattern baldness in case you have not gotten the results you expect from them.

What are the new treatments apart from pills, lotions and hair transplant that is sure to work for you and doesn’t cost you a bundle giving the expected results?

Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP)

Platelets have hundreds of specialized proteins called growth factors that aid in healing wounds and injuries. PRP comes concentrated with many more platelets than normal blood that helps to heal wounds as well as treating hair loss. 

Doctors are using it to regrow hair by injecting it into your scalp with a small needle, whereby the growth factors help create or stimulate new hair follicles. 

While there is still no standard process, doctors start with three treatments. A few months later, the hair comes thicker and fuller than before as one study of the large majority of people came out happy with the results and said they had improved hair. A booster treatment 6 months later when the hair growth starts to slow down is necessary. 

As of now, there aren’t any side effects, while some people often say the shots hurt even with numbing medicine. To kick start hair growth or help other treatments some doctors use PRP during hair transplants. It is promising yet how long the benefits last is not clear as tests of PRP as a treatment for hair loss are promising. 

Low-Level Laser Therapy (LLLT)

To put the brakes on hair loss, it is not sure exactly how the safe type of light therapy works and encourages more hair follicles to grow, speed up how fast the cells reproduce or improve how well cells work.

While low-level lasers never get hot, hurt or burn tissue, they do boost blood flow to the hair roots bringing nutrients and energy that the hair needs to grow. 

Get laser hair treatments in the doctor’s office or at home using a laser comb, headband or a small helmet that fits under the baseball cap. 

Conclusion 

While most of the people opt for home treatments, it can be done whenever you want and costs less than doctor visits.

With LLT you should have thicker fuller hair about 6 months similar to the same amount of time taken by other treatments but in case it is completely bad, LLT won’t help you. 

There is more research necessary to figure out how best to use it and how long its effects last.