After receiving a PRP injection, patients may experience some mild to moderate pain or discomfort at the injection site. This is normal and is a sign that your body is healing as you adjust to the injection. Pain can last for two to three days after joint injections, and up to a few days for soft tissue (tendon or ligament) injuries. Tylenol is usually effective in controlling pain.
PRP injections offer lasting pain relief, but the initial treatment can cause some pain, tenderness, or even discomfort. This is due to the fact that PRP injections produce acute inflammation to help tissues heal, especially for injuries such as knee ligament injuries. The acute inflammation causes the body to send certain cells to begin repairs, which is what causes the eventual healing process. After the procedure, your doctor will recommend letting the area being treated rest. Resting the area is crucial, especially if it was treated due to an injury.
If there was no injury, you should be able to continue your regular activities after PRP injections. Talking to your doctor about appropriate steps will guide you to a successful recovery process. PRP injections are often given along with surgery to help conditions such as meniscal tears or rotator cuff injuries. Of course, recovery time will be aggravated due to surgery. Depending on your condition, you should see results 2 to 6 weeks after receiving a PRP injection. Minor injuries or cases of chronic pain usually have results in the first two weeks, while more serious injuries will not be able to appreciate healing until about a month has passed.
It usually depends on whether you are injecting a joint or a tendon. Side effects are not common when it comes to receiving PRP injections because they are derived from the patient's own blood. Aspirin, Motrin, Advil, Alleve, Naprosyn, Naproxen, Celebrex, Mobic and Diclofenac will interfere with platelet function and are expected to decrease the response to a PRP injection. A big part of understanding recovery time from PRP injection is knowing the activity limitations expected of you. New research shows that PRP is more effective than cortisone injections, which mask inflammation and have no healing capacity. Discuss the potential risk with your healthcare provider to prevent the risk of side effects from PRP injection.
The more severe the injury to the joint, tendon, or ligament or the underlying condition, the longer the potential recovery time from PRP injection. For example, a recent study found that leukocyte-poor PRP has fewer side effects, but is as effective as leukocyte-rich PRP. Recovery time from PRP injection is quite fast, usually with a few days of pain and then improves over time. PRP injections are used to treat many different orthopedic injuries and degenerative conditions, such as osteoarthritis and arthritis. However, as an autologous process (meaning that PRP comes from your own blood), your health may limit your ability to produce high-quality PRP.