Did you know that tendonitis can occur in almost any tendon located on your body? What’s worse, tendonitis can happen after the most trivial of activities such as raking the lawn or doing the laundry.
Tendonitis seems to take control of a person’s day by keeping them in a state of pain. The good thing is, there are plenty of ways to cure this. Unfortunately, some of them are only temporary fixes.
That’s where platelet-rich plasma therapy can help. Using this method, doctors use your body’s own platelets to help heal your tendonitis.
Keep reading to learn more about tendonitis and how platelet-rich plasma therapy can help alleviate the pain from it.
What Is Tendonitis?
Ever heard someone say that they have a case of tennis elbow or golfer’s elbow? What they’re actually referring to when they say that is a condition called tendonitis.
When you see anything that has ‘-itis’, it means that there is likely some sort of inflammation going on inside a person’s body. Using this, we can discover the meaning of tendonitis. Let’s start with the tendons.
Tendons are like cords of tissue that run throughout your body. They’re pretty strong and are what connect your muscles to your bones. Because of their function (attaching muscles to bones) tendons run throughout your body.
The biggest tendon in your body is the Achilles tendon, which connects the heel bone to the calf muscle.
If we put both tendon and itis together, we get roughly ‘inflammation of the tendon.’ This makes sense since tendons run all throughout your body. It seems natural that they’d get inflamed once in a while.
Causes of Tendonitis
The specific cause of tendonitis differs depending on both locations of the inflammation and the person’s lifestyle. For most occasions though, tendonitis usually happens because of sudden movements that your body cannot support, or repetitive exercise.
One type of tendonitis is lateral epicondylitis. This is the medical term for tennis elbow.
This type of tendonitis happens whenever the tendons that bend the wrist back (away from the palm) are damaged or exerted forcefully. Think of how a tennis player hits a ball. When the racket meets the ball, their wrist is forcefully jolted backward.
Excessive strain on this muscle then causes pain alongside the elbow and forearm. Other symptoms of tendonitis include:
- Swelling
- Numbing sensation
- ‘Grating’ feeling
- Pain
Tendonitis pain is highly individual. This condition also doesn’t just affect athletes, but your common business person or busy mother as well.
But how is tendonitis usually treated?
Common Treatments for Tendonitis
Like other conditions that cause pain such as arthritis or chronic back pain, cases of tendonitis are subjected to therapy. Your doctor might refer you to a physical therapist to work on exercises that would alive the pain.
Additionally, you might receive medication for the pain such as steroids. In even more severe cases, surgery might be necessary.
However, tendonitis can also get cured by making some changes to lifestyle practices. This includes using extra support when doing exercise, stretching, or icing out painful areas.
And as always, advancements in medical technology are always around the corner. This means new methods of therapy are consistently introduced. One of the newer methods is called platelet-rich plasma therapy.
Platelet-Rich Plasma Therapy
Platelet-rich plasma therapy is a relatively newer advancement in the medical field. It seeks to treat tendonitis and other pain disorders by using the innate healing properties of the patient’s own platelets.
You might be asking “Well, what are platelets?”
Platelets are little tiny materials that circulate throughout your body’s plasma (the liquid that carries blood through your veins). Think of them like little handymen inside of your body. Whenever you sustain an injury such as a bruise or cut, platelets rush to the injury location and clot.
This act of clotting allows the platelets to power up your tissue’s repair cycle so that your injury may heal faster. Because of this, platelets are known for their amazing healing properties.
Now, this is where science comes in. Research was conducted on platelet’s healing properties long ago, and medical professionals came to the conclusion that a person’s own platelets can be used to heal ailments. One of these curable ailments is tendonitis.
Using Platelet-Rich Plasma Therapy for Tendonitis
Your body naturally sends platelets towards areas of pain or inflammation as an attempt to heal an injury or wound. But in cases where the pain gets too high or inflammation is too consistent, this natural process is not enough.
That’s where it might be advisable to use platelet-rich plasma therapy for ligament injuries or platelet-rich plasma therapy for tennis elbow. How does this process work?
A medical professional will draw blood from your system and circulate it on a centrifuge. This separates the platelets from other parts of your blood.
Once the solution is ready, the doctor numbs the area that needs treating. You’re then injected with your own platelets which bolsters your body’s natural healing process.
How Long Does It Take to Work?
The procedure itself only takes about 30 minutes, give or take some time for extra precaution. The process is also minimally invasive, so there’s no need for complete anesthetics or other surgery conditions.
As for how long it takes to work, platelet-rich plasma therapy for muscle injuries and tendonitis might take a few weeks to kick in. The good news is, research studies and clinical trials have proven that this therapy is very effective at reducing pain. All of this is even backed up by MRI and ultrasound scans done on patients after therapy.
Who Qualifies for PRP Therapy?
PRP has a low risk of producing any negative results such as allergic reactions or immune reactions. Not many side effects are reported from PRP therapy, but that doesn’t mean there is no chance of having any.
If you’re someone who has suffered from joint or muscle pain for long periods of time and tried almost everything, we invite you to give PRP therapy a try. The process is quick and minimally invasive, and you can get back to your regular daily activities almost immediately.
With that being said, we do not recommend PRP therapy for the following people:
- Those with blood disorders
- Pregnant or nursing mothers
- Cancer patients
- People taking anti-coagulation medication
What Else Can PRP Therapy Help With?
Aside from helping with tendonitis and muscle injuries, doctors also use platelet-rich plasma therapy for osteoarthritis.
Osteoarthritis is slightly different from tendonitis. It still deals with inflammation and pain. But whereas tendonitis is the swelling of the tendons, osteoarthritis happens when the protective cartilage on a bone decays.
Plenty of research has shown that the same PRP therapy method that helps with tendonitis can also help with osteoarthritis. It helps boost your body’s natural healing and regenerative process.
Getting the Relief You Need
No one deserves to live a life dictated by the pain from tendonitis. While there are many cures for tendonitis and other pain disorders, not all of them work for every individual.
That’s where platelet-rich plasma therapy can help. At Rejuvenate Your Health, we’re experts in the craft. We want to make sure you can live a life, pain-free, and get back to doing the activities you love.
Ready to take a step towards living life free from tendonitis? Go ahead and visit our contact page to schedule a consultation.