Uncover the Role of Platelet-Rich Plasma Therapy in Relieving Bursitis Symptoms
Bursitis is now one of the most common causes of pain across the U.S. The data shows that nine million people around the country experience frequent periods of bursitis-related pain each year.
By helping alleviate pain and offering an alternative to treatments that only target symptoms, PRP is providing hope to bursitis sufferers not only across the United States but globally. This post explores the latest research into PRP for bursitis and the role regenerative medicine can play in targeting the root cause of debilitating pain.
Understanding Bursitis Pain
Before explaining the role of PRP in treating bursitis, let’s explore the condition’s root cause. Bursae are fluid-filled sacs that cushion and reduce friction between tissues in the body. When bursae become inflamed, typically due to repetitive motions, sudden injury, or underlying medical conditions, patients experience significant pain, swelling, and restricted movement.
Common types of bursitis include:
- Shoulder bursitis
- Hip bursitis
- Knee bursitis
- Elbow bursitis
- Heel bursitis
Scientific Research Supporting PRP for Bursitis
Multiple scientific studies have investigated the effectiveness of PRP in treating bursitic conditions, revealing promising results.
A study presented during the annual meeting of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons found PRP was more effective than corticosteroids for treating severe hip bursitis. The results showed PRP injections are significantly more effective in treating pain and offer longer-lasting pain relief than the equivalent cortisone injection.
A clinical review completed for the Journal of Hip Preservation Surgery found that PRP is a viable treatment option for trochanteric bursitis. 70% of patients in the clinical review reported a significant reduction in pain scores after PRP injection.
After a study exploring the impact of PRP on patients with Retrocalcaneal bursitis, the data published in the Journal of Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine showed 89.05% of patients treated with an autologous PRP injection experienced improved functional outcomes within 1-year of treatment.
The Mechanism of PRP in Bursitis Treatment
The science behind platelet-rich plasma is still evolving, and research into the biological process behind its success as a regenerative treatment continues. Current data from global studies on the biological process behind the success of PRP shows the process works through several steps:
Inflammation Modulation: Growth factors in PRP help regulate the inflammatory response, reducing chronic inflammation of the bursa.
Tissue Regeneration: By introducing concentrated growth factors, PRP stimulates the repair of damaged bursal tissue and surrounding structures.
Pain Reduction: The regenerative process and reduced inflammation contribute to significant pain alleviation.
The Treatment Process Behind PRP for Bursitis
Your regenerative care doctor will prepare you for the treatment process by answering your questions and helping you understand what to expect both during and after the treatment process.
Working with a Miami PRP leader such as STEMS Health, you can depend on the team to tailor the specific bursitis treatment to your long-term health goals, planning each phase of recovery with precision to prepare you for a return to optimal health.
Our in-clinic PRP treatment process for bursitis patients includes the following steps:
- Blood Collection: Your doctor draws a small blood sample.
- Centrifugation: Our team processes the sample in a centrifuge to concentrate platelets.
- Preparation: We prepare your PRP sample for injection.
- Guided Injection: We then guide the PRP sample into the affected bursa with a fluoroscope.
Comparative Effectiveness of PRP vs. Corticosteroids
Compared to traditional treatments like corticosteroid injections or physical therapy, PRP offers:
- Potentially longer-lasting results
Many studies have shown that the pain-relieving effects of corticosteroids persist for a shorter time, sometimes just a few weeks after injection.
- Natural healing approach
Because PRP is a natural product created from your own blood, PRP treatment has fewer side effects than corticosteroids.
- Reduced risk of tissue degradation
PRP treatment offers more effective tissue regeneration compared with corticosteroids, which treat only the pain symptoms and have no impact on the tissue and underlying structure of the bursa. PRP supports accelerated neovascularization, increasing blood supply and nourishment of nearby cells. Neovascularization is essential for cellular regeneration and the restoration of damaged tissue.
The Future of PRP for Bursitis Treatment
While PRP has been proven in studies across the globe to offer lasting relief of bursitis-related pain, the full potential benefits of the treatment are still under analysis.
PRP could soon become the standard by which all other treatments for bursitis are measured and can be combined with other regenerative therapies to help restore function and reduce debilitating pain associated with a range of conditions.
Book PRP Injections with STEMS Health
STEMS Health in Miami Beach is transforming the traditional approaches to bursitis care and helping patients achieve lasting relief from daily pain. Our team of board-certified doctors offers decades of experience in bursitis diagnosis and treatment and can help you start your recovery process.
Call our clinic today at (305) 677-0565 to book your consultation and join thousands of Miami residents in experiencing the transformative benefits of PRP with STEMS Health.
References:
[1] Monto RR. Paper #778. Presented at: American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Annual Meeting; March 11-15, 2014; New Orleans.
[2] KMautner K, Colberg RE, Malanga G et al. Outcomes after ultrasound-guided platelet-rich plasma injections for chronic tendinopathy: a multicenter, retrospective review. PM R 2013; 5: 169–75.
[3] Ahmed H, Tarar MY, Khalid A, Shah N, Gilani A, Ijaz M. Greater Trochanteric Pain Syndrome and the Efficacy of Platelet-Rich Plasma Injections: A Systematic Review. Cureus. 2024 Oct 29;16(10):e72597. doi: 10.7759/cureus.72597. PMID: 39610638; PMCID: PMC11604237.
[4] Pretorius J, Habash M, Ghobrial B, Alnajjar R, Ellanti P. Current Status and Advancements in Platelet-Rich Plasma Therapy. Cureus. 2023 Oct 17;15(10):e47176. doi: 10.7759/cureus.47176. PMID: 38021947; PMCID: PMC10652151
