What is PRP Therapy?
PRP therapy involves separating and concentrating the platelets in the blood of the patient, returning them to the injured tissue, and using their regenerative abilities to promote tissue repair. The method of administration depends on the size of the joint and the number of joints to be treated.
PRP therapy is recommended for the following people
- Those who suffer from knee pain in daily life.
- Those who suffer from sports injuries such as ligament damage, separation, tendonitis, etc.
- Those who wish to resume exercise as soon as possible.
- Those who suffer from arthritis of the fingers such as Heberden's nodes.
- Those who have been injected with hyaluronic acid many times, but the pain in the knees has not been remedied.
Advantages and disadvantages of PRP therapy
PRP therapy has the merit of being able to treat symptoms that could not be improved by conventional treatment methods, and the demerit of not being covered by insurance. Before receiving treatment, be sure to understand the characteristics of PRP.
Advantages of PRP therapy
Low risk of side effects
Because the components are made from one's own blood, there are no problems with post-transfusion hepatitis, HIV or other infections, or GVHD allergy due to blood transfusion, so it is expected to be a mainstay treatment method of regenerative medicine in the future.
No surgical operation is required
This treatment improves symptoms by utilizing a special method to process blood collected by injection and injecting regeneration-promoting ingredients into the affected area. This treatment does not require surgical operation with a scalpel, so there is no burden on the body.
It is possible to treat symptoms that could not be improved due to lack of treatment methods.
There is an increasing number of cases that can be remedied with PRP therapy, even in cases where it was difficult to improve symptoms with conventional treatment. For example, as a treatment for finger arthropathy such as Heberden's node, the Iwamizawa main hospital has already produced good results in more than 20 cases. It is one of the treatments of choice for patients whose symptoms are hard to relieve with conventional treatments and who wish to resume physical activities as soon as possible.
High sustainability of the treatment effect
For example, when treating knee pain with hyaluronic acid injections, the injections are given once a week five times. After that, they are often administered continuously at intervals of two weeks or more according to the symptoms. On the other hand, in the case of PRP therapy, it is reported that the treatment continues to be effective with injections once or twice a year.
Disadvantages of PRP Therapy
Safety in the process of PRP extraction
The extraction and concentration of PRP is done using a centrifuge, but the extraction process needs to be sterile. In particular, when administered in the joint, the presence of bacteria may induce infectious arthritis, and this is strictly regulated by the Regenerative Medicine Act.
Health insurance cannot be applied
PRP therapy is not covered by health insurance, so it is a self-paid treatment. Conventional methods are very expensive, costing more than 250,000-300,000 yen, so we cannot easily recommend it to our patients. However, with the desire to let more people know the virtues of PRP, our clinic offers PRP therapy that can be performed at a relatively affordable cost of treatment while ensuring safety.
Types of PRP therapy in our clinic
PRP-FD Therapy
In PRP-FD therapy we outsource the work of extraction and concentration of the collected blood samples, and freeze-dry them over a period of about three weeks. The freeze-dried active ingredients are then administered to the affected area.
Administration of PRP-FD therapy to large joints such as the knee joint is not technically difficult, but administration to soft tissues such as tendons requires medical technology to inject into the exact location using echo. Therefore, we have installed an echo machine specialized for orthopedic treatment, and have medical equipment in place to ensure safe treatment for administration in tendons.
Treatment Examples
- Tennis elbow
- Intractable synovial cyst
- Torn muscles, etc.
PRP treatment using the ACP double-syringe
In the case of PRP treatment using the ACP double syringe, blood is drawn in the clinic and the platelet plasma is separated and prepared on the spot. The time required is about 15 minutes. This method is also not covered by insurance and is at one’s own expense.
Although the blood collected by the ACP double syringe is approved for Type 3 and cannot be administered in joints, it can be used in a wide range of applications such as accelerating fracture healing. In addition, in a few cases, we have also administered it in the injured nerve, and it is expected to improve residual neurological symptoms after surgery.
We are currently using it within the scope of orthopedics, but we plan to expand the range of applications at our clinic in the future.
Each facility is required to obtain approval under the Regenerative Medicine Act, and while the Iwamizawa main hospital has already received approval, the Kita 7-jo Clinic is in the process of applying for approval. Until the approval is obtained, PRP-FD treatment will be provided in preference.
Treatment Examples
- Tennis elbow
- Postoperative keloid scars
- Nerve damage, etc.
Steps of PRP therapy treatment
The treatment is performed as follows.
-
1Collection of blood
Collect about 26 to 52ml of blood per kit.
-
2PRP preparation
■In the case of PRP treatment using the ACP double syringe
The collected blood is centrifuged using a special medical device to produce PRP.
It takes about 15 minutes until the PRP is ready.■In the case of PRP-FD therapy
We ask an outside organization to make PRP from the blood we have collected. In our clinic, we use freeze-dried PRP, so the processing time takes about three weeks. -
3Treatment
PRP is injected into the damaged area using an injection. The treatment time is only a few minutes. Depending on the treatment area, PRP is injected more precisely using an echo.
Treatment cost of PRP therapy
| For PRP treatment using ACP double syringe | 27,500 yen - 55,000 yen (tax included) |
|---|---|
| For PRP-FD therapy | 165,000 yen (tax included) |
※The cost is the same regardless of the part of the body to be treated.
Since insurance is not applied, the treatment is at one’s own cost.
