Treatment of joints with enriched plasma

Osteoarthritis of the joint is a degenerative process in which a number of factors are involved. Simply put, it is a mechanical wear of the joint surface. However, the inflammatory and biochemical components also play a significant role. The key role in the development of osteoarthritis is played by articular cartilage, which is ideally completely smooth, flexible and with a surface film of viscous joint fluid. It does not contain any blood vessels, it is nourished only by joint fluid, in adulthood it has very minimal potential for growth and thus for the healing of defects caused by either overloading or injuries. Only in the period of skeletal growth is it able to heal defects caused by damage with quality and without consequences. And it is this effect that the intra-articular application of the plasma of a patient with a high platelet content uses.

How is platelet-raised plasma obtained?

By centrifuging the patient's blood in a special prp tube, we separate the blood components, then suck up the platelet-rich plasma into an application syringe, followed by immediate application to the affected joint, most often the knee or hip.

How does the treatment actually work?

Depending on the type of disease, platelet-enriched plasma (PRP) is usually repeatedly applied to the joint, which significantly helps to naturally heal defects of the joint surface and thus counteracts the development of osteoarthritis. Together with other methods, it delays the state of severe and painful wear and tear of the joint with the need to implant a joint replacement.

In order for treatment to proceed in this ideal way, several conditions must be met. In some cases, it is also appropriate to perform arthroscopy before biological treatment, verify the severity of damage to the joint surfaces under camera control and eliminate mechanical problems inside the joint, adjust meniscus injuries or smooth out joint growths that prevent free movement of the joint.

Is this treatment for everyone?

The severity of cartilage damage is crucial to the effectiveness of treatment. We can heal light surface defects by this procedure and the post-treatment of plasma platelet applications is then highly effective, because the joint is then without affecting its structures and therefore fully functional and painless. In deep cartilage defects, this treatment can only partially heal the joint surface and the effectiveness then decreases. If osteoarthritis is already in its last phase, when cartilage is completely absent in the stress zones of the joint, the application of plasma no longer has any effect and new cartilage will no longer grow there. In this case, a joint replacement is the only way to ensure a functional, stable and painless joint. The more severe the cartilage damage, the less effective the intra-articular application of platelet-enriched plasma.

Is this treatment only suitable for osteoarthritis-affected joints?

The effect of growth factors can of course also be used when injuring cartilage or ligaments by injury. We most often apply platelet plasma to the knee and before this application we require an X-ray of the joint and sometimes, especially for injuries, arthroscopy is also suitable. In the case of a hip joint, an X-ray to determine the severity of wear is also a necessity. The course of biological treatment of affected cartilage contains five applications of plasma to the joint after a week and one application with an interval of three months. For ligament and muscle injuries, the application scheme is different.

How is it practically done? It is safe?

Plasma with a high platelet content is obtained by standard collection of the patient's blood into a special prp tubes from prpmed.de, after centrifugation on a specially calibrated centrifuge, the plasma is separated and immediately applied to the treated joint, joint structures or muscle. This procedure complies with all strict standards for the handling of blood products and is as safe as possible for the patient. It belongs to the hands of erudite orthopedists, who can not only thoroughly consider all the circumstances of the treatment, control all the above procedures and can also safely and accurately apply plasma with a high content of platelets to the treated area. Therefore, we start the treatment by a comprehensive examination of the patient in our outpatient clinic, evaluation of his condition and design of the optimal treatment procedure for the given degree of the disease.