PRP Injection Restore Mobility & Get Pain Relief In Elbow Treatments

Incidences of elbow pain related to arthritis and injuries are on the rise in the U.S. While older adults may develop the condition with age, organizations like the Stop Sports Injuries are noting elbow pain in younger athletes. Given that young people need solutions that will not hamper their future growth, PRP injection elbow treatments seem like a viable option.

By choosing this course of treatment, patients have found that they can get long-term pain relief. And, perhaps, delay or eliminate the need for surgery. Some of the high-profile athletes that have taken PRP therapy with effective results include Tiger Woods, Rafael Nadal, and Hines Ward.

You can Develop Elbow Pain Because of Various Causes

The Mayo Clinic talks about several causes of elbow pain. All of these causes respond well to PRP injection elbow treatments.

• Age-related: Osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and bursitis
• Overuse-related: Tennis elbow and trapped nerves
• Injury-related: Throwing injuries, sporting injuries, fractures from stress, broken arm, or strains and sprains

Patients having elbow pain typically have symptoms like swelling and redness around the joint. You may also notice difficulty in movement and severe pain.

Your Doctor May Make Some Treatment Recommendations

After conducting tests to identify the cause of your discomfort, your doctor may recommend the right course of treatment. Here are some of the typical solutions:

• Placing warm packs around the elbow and forearm taking care to protect the skin
• Applying ice packs to lower inflammation
• Resting the joint
• Conducting gentle stretching exercises to strengthen the elbow muscles taking care to avoid causing pain
• Wearing a wrist brace to prevent straining the muscles in the elbow and allowing it to heal
• Wearing a counterforce band on the upper part of the forearm so that the strain from hand movement is not relayed to the affected elbow joint
• Over-the-counter pain medication
• Corticosteroid injections for pain relief in complicated cases
• Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) injections
• Surgery for extreme conditions

What are Your Options for Chronic Elbow Pain?

You can get relief from most of the causes of elbow pain using some of the simpler treatments. However, you may need more extensive options for chronic discomfort. WebMD defines chronic elbow pain as a condition that lasts for more than six months with discomfort levels ranging from 5 to 10 on a 10-point scale. Accordingly, your doctor may recommend that you opt for corticosteroid or cortisone injections, or PRP injection elbow treatments.

Cortisone Injections vs PRP Injection Elbow Treatments – The Better Option

Taco Gosens, MD. PhD. and his team at the St. Elisabeth Hospital in Tilburg, Netherlands conducted studies on a group of patients. They administered cortisone injections on 49 of the patients (Group A) while 51 received PRP injection elbow treatments (Group B). Doctors placed injections on different spots on the affected elbow for both groups. Here are their findings:

• At the onset, patients in Group A experienced faster pain relief and ease of movement.
• At 26 weeks, Group A patients had some pain but Group B patients showed steady improvement with both pain relief and easier movement.
• Over the next 12 months, Group A patients experienced 24% lowered pain levels and 17% better movement. On the other hand, Group B patients reported 64% lowered pain levels and 84% better movement.
• In Group B, of the 51 patients, 3 had to go in for surgery. However, among the Group A patients, 6 needed surgery, and 1 opted for another cortisone injection. 6 patients signed up for PRP injection elbow treatments.

PRP Therapy May Be Preferable to Cortisone Injections

The studies conducted clearly show that given a choice between PRP injection vs cortisone, platelet therapy is more effective. Further, in recent times, doctors have been discovering the long-term downsides of getting cortisone injections. Here are some facts you might want to know:

• Getting steroids can only provide short-term relief.
• Studies have shown that they can weaken the tissues to a point where normal movement can incur more damage.
• Cortisone injections lower inflammation levels. Given that swelling is the body’s response to an injury, by eliminating the swelling, cortisones stall the healing process.

On the other hand, PRP injection elbow treatments help in healing.

• PRP floods the area with growth factors, platelets, mesenchymal stem cells, cytokines, and other healing elements.
• These factors work on the damage and repair the damaged tissue.
• Typically, tendons and scar tissues receive a low blood supply and for this reason, healing is delayed. PRP therapy rectifies the problem by developing new blood vessels in the site and infusing the area with oxygen and nutrients. As a result, the elbow joint starts to heal.

Your doctors will make the necessary recommendations depending on the cause of your elbow pain. If needed, they may also prescribe surgery. But, given a choice between other options and PRP injection elbow treatments, you may want to consider PRP given its long-term benefits. Talk to your doctor about what is PRP and if it is a suitable option for you. 

Have you been dealing with elbow pain in the last few weeks? Have you been looking for long-term pain relief? Consider getting PRP treatments that can potentially help you avoid getting surgery. Contact us or call us at (888)-981-9516 for more information

Have you taken any treatments for joint pain before? Do you know of anyone who has tried PRP therapy? What were their experiences like? Would you like to share them with our readers? Please use the comment box below.

References:
Platelet-Rich Plasma Helps Tennis Elbow

Autologous platelet-rich plasma injection in tennis elbow and plantar fasciitis