Hand pain from osteoarthritis can be chronic. When osteoarthritis causes pain and limits mobility, it can decrease your ability to enjoy life. Traditional treatments like pain medications, anti-inflammatory drugs, and physical therapy don’t offer a long-term solution. Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy is the answer for patients looking for an alternative treatment that effectively relieves osteoarthritis symptoms in the long term.
What is Osteoarthritis?
Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common form of arthritis (inflammation and swelling of your joints) and is sometimes referred to as “wear and tear” arthritis. Joint pain and stiffness, which can limit mobility in a joint, are two of the most frequently seen signs of osteoarthritis.
If you have osteoarthritis, the cartilage where your bones meet at a joint begins to break down. Cartilage is a flexible and strong connective tissue that acts as a shock absorber in your body and protects your bones and joints. Cartilage decreases friction and prevents the ends of your bones from rubbing together when using your joints. The breakdown of cartilage in your joints leads to stiffness, pain, and reduced mobility.
The Degenerative Toll of Osteoarthritis on Your Body and Mind
As your osteoarthritis progresses, your cartilage continues to wear away and might even be reduced to nothing, so your bones will directly rub against one another. In addition to the destruction of your cartilage, your body will also undergo:
- Synovitis: inflammation and swelling of the tissue that lines your joints
- bones grating against one another
- chronic pain in affected joints
- decay of the connective tissue responsible for joining your muscles to your bones
- stretched ligaments and tendons
- Affected joints can become warm and red.
- progressive physical discomfort or pain
- impaired mobility
- depression or loss of sleep as a result of other ongoing symptoms
What is Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) Therapy?
Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy is a regenerative treatment that enhances your body’s natural healing process, improves functioning, and can help reduce inflammation and pain in your musculoskeletal tissues. PRP is made from your own blood, which is centrifuged to separate the blood cells from the platelets in the plasma (the liquid part of your blood). Your separated plasma will be remixed, and your platelet level may be 5 to 10 times higher than usual.
What to Expect at a PRP Therapy Appointment for Hand Pain?
Your blood will be drawn the same way it would for typical blood work or lab tests. It will then be placed into a centrifuge. The centrifuge spins at a very high speed and separates the platelets in your blood from the other cells. Platelets contain essential nutrients necessary for new cell growth and will be collected. Your collected platelets will be injected at the site of your osteoarthritis pain using X-ray guidance.
How Does Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) Therapy Treat Osteoarthritis Hand Pain?
Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy helps manage osteoarthritis by harnessing the body’s natural healing mechanisms to promote tissue repair and regeneration. Platelets are abundant in growth factors and cytokines and play an essential role in the healing process by stimulating the formation of new blood vessels, cell reproduction, and collagen synthesis.
Injecting your platelet-rich plasma into the affected joint will:
- Help detect and repair damaged tissues.
- Alleviate joint inflammation, which will improve joint function and reduce pain.
- Stimulate the cells responsible for cartilage maintenance to promote cartilage repair and regeneration in the affected joint.
Benefits of Using PRP Therapy to Treat Hand Pain from Osteoarthritis
One of the most significant benefits of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy is that it uses products from your body. This means it is a natural product; you won’t have to worry about foreign substances or potential side effects. Other benefits of PRP therapy include:
- The procedure is minimally invasive.
- Most patients can resume their normal daily activities immediately after receiving a PRP treatment.
- reduces inflammation
- slows the progression of osteoarthritis
- alters your pain receptors and reduces pain sensations
- stimulates the formation of new cartilage around your joints
- Increases the production and amount of natural lubricating fluid that surrounds your joints
- may limit your need for pain medications (both over-the-counter and prescription) and steroid injections
- decreased stiffness and pain in the affected joint
- increased mobility in the affected joint
- When compared to surgery, the recovery and rehabilitation time is significantly quicker
To learn more about how Platelet Rich Plasma can help with pain relief or to schedule a consultation, call A Family Chiropractic Clinic and Integrated Pain Relief at 940-566-0000 or contact us online.
