Medical Beat: PRP technique showing promise with MMA-related injuries

[SinCitysmallGUY]

New techniques and advances in orthopedics commonly get the public's attention and then tend to fade away when they don't deliver as reported.

Lasers, robots and all sorts of holistic remedies come and go. It seems that everyone (especially baby boomers, weekend warriors and serious athletes) is looking for a "lil' magic" to make tired, worn joints and other aching body parts feel better.

Unfortunately, despite what is advertised and hyped, there is no magic out there.

But the good news is real medical research and development is gaining ground. Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) is now gaining popularity, and early results seem to be very promising.

PRP is a technique that utilizes naturally occurring healing factors that reside in your own blood. A small amount of your blood (30cc or two tablespoons) is drawn from your arm. Your blood is then concentrated using a centrifuge (spinning machine), and a special filter separates the useful healing factors. These now-concentrated healing factors (5cc or one teaspoon) are then injected into a desired area to stimulate and promote your body's natural healing mechanism.

The idea is to actually heal chronically inflamed and painful tissues rather than just temporarily treating them with repeated cortisone injections.

The entire procedure takes about 30 minutes at your orthopedic surgeon's office or an outpatient surgery center (probably a bit more appropriate). That's it.

So, what conditions are being treated with or aided by PRP? Chronic tennis elbow, many forms of tendonitis, Achilles tendonitis, bursitis, all sorts of arthroscopic knee and shoulder procedures, rotator-cuff repairs, plantar fasciitis, SI joint pain and many others.

During the pre-game show for the SuperBowl, it was reported that Pittsburgh Steelers star wide receiver Hines Ward had the procedure done to aid healing of his recent knee injury. Apparently both Ward and the team physicians considered PRP to be a significant factor in his ability to play in the Big Game.

As MMA athletes will readily admit, they are always nursing nagging injuries. The manner in which they train almost dictates that they are never 100 percent healthy. Repeated joint locks are potentially damaging and often create chronic tendon, ligament and capsular injuries.

PRP may be one technique that may prove very beneficial for many people – and MMA athletes in particular.

(Disclaimer: I perform this procedure in my practice. Please do not construe my comments as a solicitation for business. My practice is quite busy, and I do not think that many of you are flying to Orlando and driving two hours to Vero Beach anytime soon.)

[gracie bjj]

thats sounds cool,im glad athletes have that at thier disposal,especially for mma fighters.i remember in my younger days when i was doing shoot matches and grappling tournaments,i would judge how good a shape i was in for my matches by how many nagging injuries i had.the more nagging injuries i had always meant i was in top shape,cause i only really got nagging injuries if i was training full blast,4 to 5 days a week for 5 hours aday.if i was getting ready just for straight up grappling competitions,i would train strictly for grappling with alittle striking mixed in just to stay sharp.if i was doing shoot matches i would do 2 hours no gi grappling,followed by a half hour break,then 1 hour muay thia,followed by another half hour break,then 1 hour queensbury rules boxing,and we always finished with bas ruttens mma workout tapes,if yous never tried bas ruttens mma workout tapes guys,give it a try,its pure hell but man it gets you in shape for a fight like you wouldnt believe,providing your doing your other stuff like i listed above.when my old instructor,ufc judge dan mirigliotta is pretty cool with bas rutten and once a year bas would come to jersey and do seminars and always came by our school(bama)in elizabeth for a seminar.after the seminar about 20 of us or so would go out to a gogo bar and have afew drinks,it was funny seeing bas getting buzzed.bas is a self proclaimed sex maniac,all he kept talking about was getting laid,i miss those days back in bama like you wouldnt believe.dan gave a bunch of us the keys and we would hang out at the academy till 1 or 2 in the morning playing video games,some guys would be going over leglocks in the corner of the mat,other guys would be practicing takedowns,me and one fighter i really cant name cause hes made a name for himself in mma and the ufc and im not sure he would appreciate me letting something like what im going to tell ya leak out,we used to go out to my car in the lot and smoke a fat doob after training every friday night and come back in and play video games and then order food from the diner right down the street.i mean its not like smoking alittle weed is gonna ruin someones mma career but he did ask me if i would keep it on the down low when we used to smoke,i have to respect the mans wishes,im sure yous understand what im saying.thanks for reading ladies and gents