# Anyone tried Platelet Rich Plasma Therapy?



## 2tomlinson (Sep 21, 2010)

Having enjoyed this forum for several months, I am aware a sizable number of bodybuilders here have joint issues that range from minor to debilitating. Has anyone tried PRP (Platelet Rich Plasma) therapy?  I'm very interested in your personal experience because I had my first PRP treatment yesterday.  According to my MD, trainers at every professional level are now convinced that PRP is hugely effective in helping elite athletes recover from injuries.  Hopefully, the same data applies to aging amateurs such as myself.  Several months ago, while throwing a castnet, I partially tore my rotator cuff and my bicep tendon which, my doctor said, required surgery (this was after two months of therapy and a steroid injection failed to help.)  Because RC surgery requires at least three to five months of careful therapy, I opted to try PRP.   The procedure is pretty simple:  They drew 22 CCs of my blood, and put it in a centrifuge for fourteen minutes.  The PA then drew-off the urine-colored platelet poor plasma, which left about 6 CCs of very dark looking, platelet rich plasma, which she saved in a large syringe.  Using a fluoroscope, the MD then injected it into my shoulder, along with 4 IUs of Human Growth Hormone.  The literature is convincing, although results aren't guaranteed, of course.  As my MD predicted, my shoulder hurts like an MF-er this morning, but I should feel marked improvement in a week to six weeks.  A major drawback for many is that insurance does not cover the procedure.  However, if it spares me surgery and several nightmare months unable to workout, it'll be worth every penny.
 I've posted a link from a New York Times story on PRP below.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/17/sports/17blood.html


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## vortrit (Sep 21, 2010)

Hmmmm... interesting.


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## tucker01 (Sep 21, 2010)

Where is the bicep tendon tear?  More like a SLAP tear right at the head of the Humerus?

I am interested to see your results.  did you ever have an MRI-a?


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## 2tomlinson (Sep 21, 2010)

IainDaniel said:


> Where is the bicep tendon tear?  More like a SLAP tear right at the head of the Humerus?
> 
> I am interested to see your results.  did you ever have an MRI-a?




Yes I had an MRI last week.  The Doc used laymans terms and a plastic shoulder joint to show me the bicep tear where it connected near the socket.  The RC tear was visible even to me on the films.  The fluoroscope shot confirmed the needle nailed the right spot. I had done a lot of reading about PRP and also Proliferation Therapy.  Both could be a huge help to people in this sport.  I'll probably get a booster in six weeks.  The NYT article has the cost inflated. My procedure even with HGH was around $800 which included everything


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## tucker01 (Sep 21, 2010)

So Basically an RC tear and a SLAP lesion.

Where did he inject the PRP?


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## 2tomlinson (Sep 21, 2010)

IainDaniel said:


> So Basically an RC tear and a SLAP lesion.
> 
> Where did he inject the PRP?



Directly into the shallow concavity beneath the RC tear.  The fluoroscope is key to getting it right and not all who offer PRP injections use one.  Just about any Orthopod should be able to do it because everything needed comes in a complete PRP kit, minus centrifuge.


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## tucker01 (Sep 21, 2010)

so it will basically do nothing for the SLAP lesion?


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## 2tomlinson (Sep 21, 2010)

I can put you in touch with the doctor if you like, and will if you're genuinely interested. The term SLAP tear was not used but sounds as if you might have one.   Judging from what I saw on the fluoroscope the injuries are in such tight proximity I can't imagine them both not benefiting if there are, indeed, any benefits to be had.


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## unclem (Sep 21, 2010)

it must be something to help heal as rich blood clotting factor. its just common sense now that i knew the whole name. good job T.


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## tucker01 (Sep 21, 2010)

No that is ok.  It just interests me, after having to deal with shoulder issues for 10+ years and finally having my Labrum surgically repaired a couple of years ago.

Just inquiries into your personal experience and how things will work.


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## 2tomlinson (Sep 21, 2010)

I understand.  The irksome thing is you and thousands of others might have benefitted because PRP benefits were known and technology available a decade ago, yet insurance industry still does not cover it.  In a PM Unclem correctly pointed out that a shoulder injury can be the end of bodybuilding hobbyist or pro which sucks.  I'd feel better if someone here had tried it.  Shoulder hurts like a bitch now but will report back here weekly if it might help.  I also got iPhone photos of the whole process.  The procedure is so damn simple that it crossed my mind that some people here already have the knowledge and skills to do it themselves.


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## 2tomlinson (Sep 21, 2010)

The PRP injection site was between the bicep ligament and bone, into the concave area beneath the rotator cuff.  A total of 6 CCs of fluid (PRP and HGH) was injected, so I suspect the area was bathed effectively.


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## maniclion (Sep 21, 2010)

Yesterday on HPR's Body Show they had a surgeon who is a shoulder specialist who said that most rotator cuff injuries really don't need surgery, he was offering to email anyone who requested it a set of stretching exercises as a way to keep the tightness from developing.  He said that most of the injuries shouldn't cause pain in itself, it's the period of babying that shoulder by people who normally are very active that cause the tightness to set in and that it's the tightness that causes the pain....


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## maniclion (Sep 21, 2010)

2tomlinson said:


> I understand.  The irksome thing is you and thousands of others might have benefitted because PRP benefits were known and technology available a decade ago, yet insurance industry still does not cover it.  In a PM Unclem correctly pointed out that a shoulder injury can be the end of bodybuilding hobbyist or pro which sucks.  I'd feel better if someone here had tried it.  Shoulder hurts like a bitch now but will report back here weekly if it might help.  I also got iPhone photos of the whole process.  The procedure is so damn simple that it crossed my mind that some people here already have the knowledge and skills to do it themselves.


Yeah but where are they going to get a fluoroscope and centrifuge along with HgH and for less than $800


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## 2tomlinson (Sep 29, 2010)

It's been eight days since I posted about my first PRP therapy injection, and I will post progress (or not) weekly.  If you read the first post, I chose to try less intrusive PRP injection rather than traditional surgery, as recommended by my orthopedic surgeon after injury was confirmed by an MRI (although he was happy enough to try PRP first.)  The shot wasn't painless, but close.  Next two days, though, my shoulder hurt like an SOB, could barely lift my arm.  With a torn RC and bicep tendon, pain over the previous few months was consistent, and bad enough to awaken me several times over the course of a night (it's fucking impossible to find a comfortable sleeping position with a torn RC).  Lifting my arm above my shoulder was too painful to do it even to hang a shirt.  So . . . good news after eight days.  I've slept through the night the last three nights, and I can now raise my arm over my head, although it still hurts.  My MD gave me exercises to do in the pool over the next six weeks.  Then, we will decide whether or not to try a booster.  I am, of course, eager to believe the PRP is the reason for the reduced pain -- but that hope alone does not account for a sufficient placebo effect for me to sleep through the night.  After a week, there is definitely less pain.  I'll post again next week.


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## LAM (Sep 29, 2010)

that pretty much sounds like it would have the same effects as blood doping using EPO


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## 2tomlinson (Sep 29, 2010)

LAM said:


> that pretty much sounds like it would have the same effects as blood doping using EPO



It certainly sounds similar, doesn't it, minus the 4 IUs of HGH.  Key difference may be that the subject's own blood is out of his/her body for less than 20-minutes.  If it works, I'm all for it.  Rehab from RC surgery is three to five careful months, no upper body workouts (although rehab is supposedly markedly faster if patient also does PRP after surgery.)  What a pain in the ass going to therapy three times a week for months.


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## bmw (Sep 30, 2010)

this is great!  Looking forward to more updates.  Hope this works out well for you.


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## 2tomlinson (Sep 30, 2010)

maniclion said:


> Yesterday on HPR's Body Show they had a surgeon who is a shoulder specialist who said that most rotator cuff injuries really don't need surgery, he was offering to email anyone who requested it a set of stretching exercises as a way to keep the tightness from developing.  He said that most of the injuries shouldn't cause pain in itself, it's the period of babying that shoulder by people who normally are very active that cause the tightness to set in and that it's the tightness that causes the pain....



Man, I would love to believe that (and I'm willing to, although not babying my shoulder is what the Doc says caused me to really fuck it up to begin with.)  And it would come as a huge surprise to all of Major League Baseball.  By the way, I love the HST photo.  I have some great HST stories, and a book signed from him telling me to watch out for the pigs on my way back to Aspen.  Talk about a man obsessed with the craft of writing!  His mom was a librarian and he worked his ass off, alone in the stacks, working at perfecting his sense of sentence.  He reads easily, which is often the case, and always deceptive.  The man paid his dues sweating blood, one word at a time.


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## maniclion (Sep 30, 2010)

Sounds too rich for my blood....


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## 2tomlinson (Sep 30, 2010)

maniclion said:


> Yeah but where are they going to get a fluoroscope and centrifuge along with HgH and for less than $800



I think some of the pros here could hold their shoulder up to a bright light, and hit the right spot.  But you're right, $800 for that procedure is the last-nickel-bargin in town -- if it works.


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## awvscbsteeerike3 (Mar 18, 2012)

2tomlinson said:


> I understand.  The irksome thing is you and thousands of others might have benefitted because PRP benefits were known and technology available a decade ago, yet insurance industry still does not cover it.  In a PM Unclem correctly pointed out that a shoulder injury can be the end of bodybuilding hobbyist or pro which sucks.  I'd feel better if someone here had tried it.  Shoulder hurts like a bitch now but will report back here weekly if it might help.  I also got iPhone photos of the whole process.  The procedure is so damn simple that it crossed my mind that some people here already have the knowledge and skills to do it themselves.



Hey Tomlinson, can you give an update on how this worked out for you?

Like you, I was diagnosed with a slap tear and have been researching ways to avoid surgery and PRP seems to be the best non-surgical option out there...if it works.  Did the procedure help?  Did you end up having surgery?  Basically, how does the story end?

Thanks!


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## kw310 (Aug 14, 2017)

2tomlinson said:


> I think some of the pros here could hold their shoulder up to a bright light, and hit the right spot.  But you're right, $800 for that procedure is the last-nickel-bargin in town -- if it works.


 Hiya - any updates years after this procedure? I have been diagnosed w/torn shoulder labrum & RC tear and for the last 7 months tried PT, cortisone shot, etc with no results. I am trying to decide if I should get an injection combo of PRP & IRAP (as one of my ortho docs suggests) or if I am doomed to get surgery. Naturally insurance doesn't cover any PRP treatments....would love to hear how your shoulder progressed.


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