Soft tissue injuries can be painful and take time to heal. However, there have been exciting advances in pain-reducing and healing therapies in recent years that help improve patient outcomes by regenerating healthy tissue. PRP therapy and Prolotherapy are two options that may help individuals with soft tissue injuries recover and get back to a healthy and active lifestyle.
What Are Soft Tissue Injuries?
Soft tissue injuries impact the body’s soft tissues like muscles, tendons, and ligaments. Soft tissue injuries include:
- Contusions – Contusions, or bruises, occur due to blunt force trauma. They happen when injured blood vessels leak blood into surrounding tissues, leading to discoloration, swelling, and pain.
- Sprains – Sprains are tears in ligaments, which are fibrous bands of tissue that connect bones to bones.
- Strains – Strains are damage to muscles or tendons that result from overuse, blunt force, or excessive pulling or stretching.
- Tendonitis – Tendons are strong tissue bands connecting muscles to bones. When these bands become inflamed, tendonitis occurs.
- Bursitis – Bursa are tiny, fluid-filled sacs that cushion the space between bones, muscles, or tendons. Inflammation of these sacs leads to bursitis.
- Stress injuries – Stress injuries, or stress fractures, are hairline bone breaks. They are most common in the lower extremities, such as the weight-bearing bones of the legs.
PRP Therapy for Soft Tissue Injuries
PRP therapy is an innovative and new treatment that may help regenerate healthy new tissue in patients with soft tissue injuries. Blood gets drawn from the patient, and platelets are separated from the remaining blood by being put into a centrifuge. Platelets are cells in the blood responsible for helping blood clot when you get a cut. They are also rich in growth factors that can help stimulate and regenerate tissue. The platelet-rich plasma gets injected into the injured area to boost healing and accelerate recovery.
PRP therapy for soft tissue injuries may help decrease pain and improve the function of the injured area. It can be an excellent option for patients with soft tissue injuries such as tendonitis. Since the treatment comes from a patient’s blood, there are few side effects aside from some injection site discomfort.
Prolotherapy for Soft Tissue Injuries
Prolotherapy is another non-surgical therapy that may be appropriate for treating soft tissue injuries. This regenerative medical procedure helps address chronic pain and stimulates tissue repair.
Prolotherapy treatment starts by injecting the injured area with a dextrose-based irritant solution. Dextrose is a form of sugar that comes from corn or wheat. The solution irritates the injured area, so the body responds by sending in platelets and other cells to stimulate tissue regeneration and repair damaged soft tissues.
It can help speed up the body’s natural healing abilities, reducing pain and restoring function to the injured area. Improvement can take several treatment sessions depending on the severity of the soft tissue injury or damage.
A Skilled Physician Can Evaluate Your Soft Tissue Injury and Give You Treatment Options
At Long Island Spine Rehabilitation Medicine, our doctors know that no one-size-fits-all options exist for managing and treating pain and soft tissue injuries. Every patient and every injury is unique, so we focus on taking a comprehensive and holistic approach to healthcare. The benefit of a consultation with one of our experienced doctors is that you get compassionate medical care and advice tailored to your body and medical condition. From PRP therapy to prolotherapy, we have the tools to help relieve your pain and restore function so a soft tissue injury doesn’t keep you on the sidelines.
Contact our office today and make an appointment to discuss your soft tissue injury treatment options. We can evaluate your condition and let you know whether prolotherapy or PRP therapy may be right for you.