Sports & Orthopaedic Medicine (accordion)

Platelet Rich Plasma Therapy

PRP is a remarkable Regenerative Medicine Treatment. Platelets in our blood contain many natural growth factors and healing proteins and are involved directly in the early healing and repair processes in any injury. Every patient is different, and each individual needs to be carefully assessed for suitability for any of the RMT. Hence prospective patients cannot schedule PRP sessions without first speaking with our physicians.

What to expect:

Our Practice Nurse will take a simple blood draw from you, which we then refine over 20-30 minutes into golden plasma packed with your concentrated platelets. Depending on the following appointment time with the doctor you may briefly return to work, have some time out or simply relax in the waiting room.

Once in with the doctor he/she will further explain the procedure to you and answer any questions you may have. The area to be injected is numbed with anaesthetic which starts to work within seconds, and the PRP is very precisely and selectively injected into the affected area using ultrasound guidance. 

Following this there may be a brief recovery period with swelling , stiffness and discomfort, and it is generally recommended not to overload the injected area for about 3 days. You will be provided with more detailed instructions and advice depending on the area you have treated.

Some areas may require more than one injection, and typically symptom relief and any healing process continue to improve for several months following the final treatment. Physiotherapy is usually an important part of the process, personalized to each individual and is typically recommended starting 2-4 weeks post injection.

CSOM has been utilizing PRP since July 2017 with great success, and because it utilizes your own blood it is a very safe procedure. Conditions that may be treated include:

Joint pain and arthritis

Rotator cuff damage

Tennis and Golfer’s elbow

Achilles tendon problems

Plantar fasciitis

Back and neck pain

Many sprains and strains

At this time PRP is not covered by local insurers.

Alpha 2 Macroglobulin (A2M)

A2M is naturally found in our blood and acts as an important carrier for numerous proteins and growth factors. It is part of a family of protease inhibitors, meaning that it can switch off a variety of enzymes that typically break down cartilage. Research suggests that A2M may potentially halt the degenerative process in arthritis, reducing inflammation and protecting cartilage cells in post-traumatic osteoarthritis.

What to expect:

Like PRP, a simple blood draw is taken by the practice nurse, following which the blood is carefully refined down to golden plasma. From here the process differs a little from PRP preparation as plasma proteins including A2M are further concentrated, but the injection process you will experience is then very similar.  Following A2M injections there is typically only minor discomfort experienced.

At this time A2M is not covered by local insurers.

Dry needling, trigger point needling or intramuscular stimulation refers to use of acupuncture needles in a western approach to pain management. The needles are inserted directly into muscular trigger points, described as abnormally taut little bands of muscle within a larger muscle mass that are tight in response to local or distant physical insult or stress. We can feel these as ‘knots’ in a muscle, locally tender and also often referring pain or discomfort to areas distant to the tenderness. They can directly cause pain, indirectly complicate pain syndromes and even mimic other pain problems.

As trigger points have been well mapped out in the texts, educated health professionals can readily find them when they are active, and use dry needling (meaning no injection of any substance) as part of treatment, to switch off or down-regulate the trigger point activity.

The sensation to the patient is typically one of an involuntary twitch, or an ache that diminishes as the point settles, with subsequent improvement (whether immediate or within a couple of days) in pain and range of motion of an affected area.

Dry needling is typically used in conjunction with other treatment modalities, including mobilization techniques, manual therapy and tailored exercise prescription, all aimed at addressing the root of the injury or problem.