Procedure

Platelet-rich plasma.

Concentrated platelets from your own blood, placed under ultrasound into tendon, ligament or joint tissue that has stopped healing.

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What it is

Platelets carry growth factors involved in tissue repair. PRP concentrates them from a sample of your own blood and delivers that concentrate directly into the tissue being treated, under ultrasound guidance so it reaches the right place.

It is used where the problem is tissue quality rather than nerve compression — chronic tendinopathy, partial tendon tears, poorly healed ligaments, and earlier-stage joint arthritis. The mechanism is a stimulated healing response, which is why the effect builds over weeks rather than appearing overnight, and why anti-inflammatory medication is usually avoided afterwards.

It does not regrow cartilage, and it is not right for every problem. Dr. Loch will tell you where the evidence supports it for your specific diagnosis and where it does not.

Candidates

Who this is for

  • Chronic tendinopathy that has not responded to physical therapy
  • Partial-thickness tendon tears
  • Early to moderate knee, hip or shoulder osteoarthritis
  • Ligament injuries that healed poorly
  • Patients wanting to avoid repeated steroid injections into the same tendon

How it works

The appointment, step by step.

  1. 01

    Before

    Stay well hydrated. Anti-inflammatory medication is usually stopped beforehand, since suppressing inflammation works against the mechanism.

  2. 02

    During

    Blood is drawn, processed in the office to concentrate the platelets, and injected into the target tissue under ultrasound. You wait in the office while it is prepared. Around an hour end to end.

  3. 03

    After

    Expect soreness for several days — that inflammatory response is part of how it works. Ice and paracetamol rather than anti-inflammatories.

  4. 04

    Weeks after

    Improvement typically builds from four to twelve weeks. A graded loading programme during that window meaningfully affects the result.

Questions about this procedure

Is it covered by insurance?
Generally no. PRP is quoted as self-pay and you will have the number before scheduling.
Is PRP the same as stem cell therapy?
No. PRP concentrates platelets from your blood. Bone marrow concentrate, a separate treatment, contains a mixed cell population taken from your own pelvis. Neither uses cultured or donor cells.
Why can I not take ibuprofen afterwards?
The treatment works by provoking a controlled inflammatory healing response. Anti-inflammatory medication blunts exactly that. We will tell you what you can take instead.

Eliminate pain and reclaim your life.

Request an appointment with Dr. Loch, or call the office at (904) 750-3787. Most patients are seen within a week.

Request an appointment