When you sprain your ankle, the pain and inflammation are often unbearable. You're usually unable to do your usual activities while your sprain heals.
But what if you could speed up the healing process to return to your everyday life? PRP injections could be just the ticket to a faster recovery time after a sprain.
Dr. Marque A. Allen and the Sports Medicine Associates of San Antonio team offer PRP as a type of regenerative medicine treatment. Dr. Allen uses PRP for various injuries, including foot and ankle sprains.
A sprain is a type of injury that involves your ligaments. When you sprain your ankle, the ligaments are either stretched past their normal range or completely torn.
Ligaments are extremely durable tissues that connect bones within your joints. They're essential in your ability to move and keep your joints stable.
Sprains range in severity and can be mild or severe. Mild sprains happen when the ligament stretches too far. More severe sprains involve the ligament being either partially or fully torn.
You can sprain any ligament, but your ankle, foot, wrist, and knee are familiar places for sprains. Symptoms of a sprain include pain, tenderness, and swelling at the site.
Dr. Allen evaluates your sprain in the office to determine the best method of treatment for your sprain. Conservative treatments include ice, rest, and physical therapy.
When other treatments fail to help, or you want a faster recovery, Dr. Allen recommends a PRP injection into your sprain.
PRP, or platelet-rich plasma, is a form of regenerative medicine that uses cells from your body to rebuild tissues. Our team uses your blood to generate the injection, making it safe and convenient for your treatment.
The two main components of PRP are platelets and plasma. The plasma is the liquid part of your blood that allows your blood cells to move freely throughout your body.
Platelets are a vital component of blood clot formation. When you have an injury, platelets are the first to the scene, clumping together to form blood clots.
However, platelets also carry crucial growth proteins that aid healing and recovery. Our team uses these proteins to your advantage by injecting them into your injury.
PRP is a simple procedure. Our team extracts a vial of blood from your arm. They place the vial in a centrifuge machine, where the blood spins down, and the platelets and plasma are separated.
During this process, the platelets multiply to extract as many growth proteins as possible. Our team then prepares the platelets and plasma for injection. They then clean off your injury and inject the PRP directly into the area.
As soon as Dr. Allen injects the PRP into your sprain, the platelets and growth proteins begin to work. The growth proteins start to build new tissue, which aids in the healing of your sprained ligament.
Torn ligaments can take as long as three months without PRP to heal fully. With PRP injections, your body can heal much faster by stimulating its recovery system.
Dr. Allen may use PRP with other treatment methods like physical therapy or rehabilitative exercise. However, you don't want to overdo it while your sprain is healing.
Surgery is sometimes the best option for a severely torn ligament. In this case, Dr. Allen may use PRP to help speed up the healing process after surgery. The injection works not only on the repaired tendon but also on the tissues in the surrounding area.
The effects of PRP aren't instantaneous, but you should see a significant difference within a few weeks as your sprain begins to heal from the inside.
If you're interested in trying PRP injections, call the Sports Medicine Associates of San Antonio today at one of our convenient locations in Texas. You can also request an appointment with Dr. Allen on our website.
