What are the purposes of PRP injections?

Researchers are trying out PRP injections across a number of applications. Examples of these include:

Hair loss: Doctors have injected PRP into the scalp to promote hair growth and prevent hair loss. According to researchTrusted Source from 2014, PRP injections are effective in treating androgenic alopecia, which is also known as male pattern baldness.

Tendon injuries: Tendons are tough, thick bands of tissue that connect muscle to bone. They are usually slow to heal after injury. Doctors have used PRP injections to treat chronic tendon problems, such as tennis elbow, Achilles tendonitis at the ankle, and jumper’s knee, or pain in the patellar tendon in the knee.

Acute injuries: Doctors have used PRP injections to treat acute sports injuries, such as pulled hamstring muscles or knee sprains.

Postsurgical repair: Sometimes doctors use PRP injections after surgery to repair a torn tendon (such as a rotator cuff tendon in the shoulder) or ligaments (such as the anterior cruciate ligament, or ACL).

Osteoarthritis: Doctors have injected PRP into the knees of people with osteoarthritis. A 2015 studyTrusted Source found that PRP injections were more effective than hyaluronic acid injections (a traditional therapy) for treating osteoarthritis. However, the trial was a small group of 160 people, so larger trials are needed for this to be conclusive.

It’s important to note that none of these uses have been definitively proven to provide results.

How do you prepare for PRP injections?

Generally speaking, there are few steps to preparing for PRP injections.

However, PRP can be injected in different ways. For example, sometimes a topical numbing lidocaine solution is applied to your scalp before injection. You may have to arrive early to a treatment session for this to be applied.

Other times, a local anesthetic is mixed with the PRP to reduce any discomfort. Sometimes, your doctor will inject or apply PRP during a surgery. In this instance, preparation for PRP injections would involve following your surgeon’s recommendations presurgery.