The cure for Tennis Elbow...

[Chevymetal]

After reading this article it looks to me (the untrained eye) that this would serve the bodybuilding community significantly. http://www.forbes.com/lifestyle/2008...treatment.html

Here's an excerpt from the article:
'The technique, called platelet-rich plasma (PRP) treatment, works by drawing blood from a patient and running it through a centrifuge, distilling the blood to a platelet concentration level five times as rich as regular blood. That plasma is then injected into the damaged tendon or muscle, overloading the area with healing cells and encouraging natural repair.'

[nunes]

Originally Posted by Chevymetal

After reading this article it looks to me (the untrained eye) that this would serve the bodybuilding community significantly. http://www.forbes.com/lifestyle/2008...treatment.html

Here's an excerpt from the article:
'The technique, called platelet-rich plasma (PRP) treatment, works by drawing blood from a patient and running it through a centrifuge, distilling the blood to a platelet concentration level five times as rich as regular blood. That plasma is then injected into the damaged tendon or muscle, overloading the area with healing cells and encouraging natural repair.'

thanks for good info

[Dr.Dave1]

Originally Posted by Chevymetal

After reading this article it looks to me (the untrained eye) that this would serve the bodybuilding community significantly. http://www.forbes.com/lifestyle/2008...treatment.html

Here's an excerpt from the article:
'The technique, called platelet-rich plasma (PRP) treatment, works by drawing blood from a patient and running it through a centrifuge, distilling the blood to a platelet concentration level five times as rich as regular blood. That plasma is then injected into the damaged tendon or muscle, overloading the area with healing cells and encouraging natural repair.'

interesting find. However, for the "average" case of tennis elbow this seems to be overkill . . . unlikely that health insurance companies would pay for this since the std of care is much cheaper and still effective . . . but slower

[CoQ10]

Has anyone tried PRP treatments? I've been looking around all night, and have found quite a few positive reviews for sufferers of PF and tennis elbow. Interested in how it might work in treating injuries common amongst bodybuilders.

Any info is appreciated.

-C10

[FlyingV]

Originally Posted by Dr.Dave1

interesting find. However, for the "average" case of tennis elbow this seems to be overkill . . . unlikely that health insurance companies would pay for this since the std of care is much cheaper and still effective . . . but slower

I agree, that's going pretty far afield for something like tennis elbow. They did mention it started as a treatment of last resort for elite athletes that didn't respond to cortisone shots, surgery or PT. In those cases I could see doing it for a pro athlete or someone who makes their living via their sport.

I realize it's from Forbes, not exactly a scientific journal, but still, the article could really be tightened up in a technical sense. For one thing that process with the centrifuge isn't "distillation" in any way shape or form. Then you read the description of the process and- as described - it doesn't make sense; if you centrifuge blood, the plasma would 'rise to the top' while the platelets and other formed elements sink to the bottom of the tube. How would that, how could that result in 'platelet rich plasma'? They may have neglected to mention that the platelets are only concentrated by this process, then collected and added back to the plasma prior to injection. That seems more likely.

The other thing the author should have cleared up is the implication that platelets are healing cells directly involved in the tissue repair. They really aren't, but they work be cause they draw immune cells from the bone marrow to the site of the injury, according to Prof. Kajikawa.

The whole thing is reminiscent of prolotherapy.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prolotherapy

[CoQ10]

Originally Posted by FlyingV

The whole thing is reminiscent of prolotherapy.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prolotherapy

Many doctors (usually D.O.'s) use it in conjunction with prolotherapy.

-C10

[Skigazzi]

That is overkill for tennis elbow / tendonitis .

Rest / Ice / Aspirin / Stretching / Proper form will heal and prevent tennis elbow

[Brett08]

Ive had tennis elbow for over two years. It has literaly put me in a depression. Ive tried therapy, rest, cortisone injections, and surgery, but nothing helped. Ice my arm twice a day and take NAIDS oraly and a topical.
Would I be a canidate for this? How would I go about finding a doctor that does this?

[reefpicker]

I don't get it... What is so special about a plasma enriched with platelets? The only thing they do is clot. There most be something else to this treatment.

The reason you get any -itis, is inflamation. Inflamation is the destruction of tissue by the bodies own immune system as it tries to take tissue out and build new tissue. Steroids work by suppressing the inflamatory process....

The only way this can work is if it somehow helps the laying down of collagen in the tendon or by suppressing the inflamation...

--------------------------------------------------------------

So I went ahead and did a bit of research and found out the reason, I think:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Platele..._growth_factor


PDGF may be what they are really trying to inject.... So it is still a bit of a blunt-force instrument, but one that maybe works well....

It would be interesting to see what works better, an injection of recombinant/purified PDGF, VEGF (another growth factor), or the concentrated platlets....

[TaoistWarrior]

I had chronic tennis elbow from a poorly designed lifting routine for years. Then I started taking fresh flaxseed oil. Haven't had a problem since.

Still, for other more severe problems, this is an interesting treatment that has a lot of future potential I think. Just not entirely cost-effective in our managed-care reality.