Treatment of musculoskeletal injuries is basically pretty simple. Give the injured patient and his or her injured body part time to let it heal on its own, or operate and fix it.
What if there was a way to not only avoid that surgery, but also speed up the natural healing process? If it worked, or even if we just thought it would work, should doctors use it on all patients or just pro athletes?
That is the debate with orthobiologics, a fancy term to describe treatments derived from the human body to help injured structures heal. Platelet-rich plasma and stem cells are the most common examples used in sports medicine today.
Many of these treatments became popular because people saw them being used on famous athletes. They wanted to try them as well, even >before there was much research proving that they were effective.
Also read:
Platelet-rich plasma: Common questions patients have about PRP
Should doctors use largely unproven treatments on pro athletes, or even adult weekend warriors? Should patients try them, especially when insurance doesn’t pay for them?
In my book That’s Gotta Hurt: The Injuries That Changed Sports Forever, I discuss Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward’s use of PRP to
overcome an MCL injury of his knee to play in the Super Bowl. If you play sports or exercise, you probably deal with aches and pains. The use of PRP and stem cells will become a key debate in the treatment of injuries among people like you in the coming years. Order your copy now from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Books-A-Million, Apple iBookstore, Target, IndieBound or Powell’s Books.
Also read:
5 injuries and conditions for which PRP can be used
