When it comes to anti-aging treatments, PRP injections are often touted as a miracle cure. But is there any evidence to back up these claims? In this article, we'll take a comprehensive look at the research on PRP injections and their potential benefits. First, it's important to note that not all clinical studies support the use of PRP. Some research suggests that PRP injections don't work better than placebo treatment.
Even in studies that do provide evidence that PRP works, not all patients benefit. And while many studies show that PRP therapy is low-risk, at least one study reports that patients' symptoms worsened after PRP treatment. More studies are needed to see under what conditions the PRP can work. So far, research shows that it speeds healing after injury or surgery for certain conditions, such as tendon tears.
In addition to helping to heal injured tissue, some studies show that PRP injections reduce pain and increase mobility in people with rotator cuff injuries. PRP injections seem to reduce hair loss in people with male or female pattern baldness. But when it comes to facial PRP injections, the evidence is less clear. While some studies suggest that PRP can reduce wrinkles and other signs of aging, there is still no high-quality evidence showing positive long-term benefits of PRP injections.
And studies that show some short-term benefits for things like knee arthritis are based on a set of beliefs that are not kept under closer scrutiny. Fillers create immediate volume, so you'll notice the difference right away. Undistorted results will become apparent as evidence of treatment diminishes and the effects of PRP injections and fillers begin to manifest. You'll look better in two weeks, and your skin will continue to improve for up to three months as collagen and elastin production increases and blood flow increases. It seems that PRP injections are not as helpful for pain that supposedly comes from damage to soft tissue.
Since there are few useful non-surgical alternatives for some conditions where PRP is being implemented, such as osteoarthritis of certain joints, and PRP so far does not appear to pose significant risks in some orthopedic settings, some patients may feel that it is worth the cost and risk. When injected into the skin, PRP attracts stem cells to the area and stimulates them to grow into new subcutaneous tissue. Studies show that growth factors in PRP injections also inhibit melanocytes, which are the cells that produce melanin, the pigment that causes brown spots. My general “meta feeling” right now is that PRP could have some moderate benefit in specific cases, but that will depend on how it is prepared, how it is injected, who is manufacturing and injecting it, as well as your training, and for what conditions and in which patients. You may need to stop taking certain blood-thinning medications, such as aspirin and ibuprofen, before you get PRP injections. If you receive it for aesthetic reasons, such as PRP injections for hair loss, your insurance probably won't cover it. For example, dermatologists and hair replacement experts use PRP injections to treat a type of hair loss called androgenic alopecia, also known as male or female pattern baldness, which affects both men and women. Even if PRP injections show some limited short-term benefit, they still focus on harm that may not actually be the cause of your problems.
As a functional movement coach that focuses on muscle balance and proper movement patterns, I'm generally not a big fan of PRP injections. Sometimes PRP is offered as a standalone therapy, while in other cases it is combined with several types of stem cells for injection. Ultimately, whether or not you decide to try out this treatment will depend on your individual needs and preferences.