If you need platelet rich plasma therapy in Thousand Oaks, Walter Thomas MD is the best choice. Platelets cause blood clotting, which is a vital part of the healing process. PRP therapy can strengthen your tendons and ligaments by up to 40%. PRP therapy works on an array of conditions; chronic tendon injuries, Achilles tendonitis, ankle sprains and tendonitis, chronic golfer’s elbow, patellar tendon inflammation, hip tendonitis, acute muscle tears, pulled hamstrings and quadriceps, knee sprains, shin splints, acute ligament tears, rotator cuff injuries, shoulder tendonitis and bursitis, DeQuervain’s tendinitis and ligament tears, knee arthritis pain and plantar fasciitis. PRP therapy has been around since the 1990’s to heal bones and soft tissues impacted by a musculoskeletal condition. PRP therapy has been treating sports related injuries since 2009.
Some people say PRP therapy helped them get back to their regular lives faster than medication, physical therapy and surgery. First we will draw blood from you. Your platelets are separated from your other blood cells. Centrifugation will increase the platelets’ concentration. A centrifuge is a device that rapidly spins to separate the platelets from other blood cells. The highly concentrated platelets are then mixed with the leftover blood. The time between drawing the blood to starting the PRP therapy is usually 30 minutes.
There are 2 ways to perform PRP therapy. One way is to inject the PRP and a local anesthetic into the area of injury. Unfortunately the pain in that area may increase for 1 or 2 weeks. The benefits of PRP therapy will also take several weeks to become obvious. The success of PRP therapy depends on 3 things; the body part getting PRP therapy, the patient’s overall general health and whether the injury is acute or chronic. Dr. Thomas will tell you when it is okay to carry on your normal activities.
PRP therapy can also be done in conjunction with surgery. The PRP gets stitched into torn tissues during the surgery. This combination will make healing the injury much easier. The success of PRP therapy largely depends on how much damage was caused during and after surgery. PRP therapy reduces the likelihood that you will injure the area again. It will also lower your chances of getting a more serious injury that will require surgery or lead to a disability.
Dr. Thomas is a board certified orthopedic surgeon. He is also a trained arthroscopic surgeon and specializes in sports medicine and general orthopedics. He is the official doctor for the United States Olympic water polo team. Dr. Thomas is kind, compassionate and caring and wants nothing more than to help patients get back to their normal physical activities (such as playing football or jump roping with the kids).
The human body has the natural ability to heal itself. PRP therapy simply helps it along. Unlike cortisone shots, PRP therapy can offer a patient long term healing. For more information about Dr. Thomas’ PRP treatments call us at 805-497-0817 or request an appointment on our contact page form.
