Shoulder pain is a common complaint among athletes and older adults. If you can’t find relief from shoulder pain with medications, it may be time to consider your alternatives at Southern Pain And Spine Specialists.
Here at the offices of Dr. Alamarie, M.D, we use diagnostic testing to identify the source of your shoulder pain. We can also determine if you’re a candidate for nonsurgical regenerative therapy using platelet-rich plasma (PRP).
How PRP Therapy Works
PRP is a substance found in your blood that contains essential growth factors and can heal damaged tissues supporting your shoulder joint.
To get the PRP we use in your treatment, we draw a sample of your blood. Dr. Alamarie, then prepares the blood in a centrifuge, a quick-spinning device that separates platelets from your other blood materials. We then inject a high concentration of platelets into specific points in your shoulder to stimulate your body’s natural healing process.
The PRP then triggers your body to produce new, healthy soft tissue cells to replace those damaged by injury or degenerative disease which is also known as Shoulder Osteoarthritis or Degenerative Arthritis of the Shoulder. PRP injections can also reduce inflammation that irritates your shoulder joint.
If you’ve injured the bones in your shoulder or the nerves surrounding your shoulder joint, Dr. Alamarie can also use stem cells, another type of regenerative medicine, to support healing.
Stem cells have the unique ability to regenerate into any type of cell, including bone, nerve, muscle, and ligament, to repair damage in your shoulder joint.
Shoulder Injuries PRP Can Treat
Your shoulder is a complex joint. The muscles, bones, tendons, and ligaments all work together to give your shoulder a wide range of motion.
Your shoulder joint allows you to lift your hands over your head or reach behind you. When you experience an injury to any part of the joint, you may not be able to lift or reach without pain.
Three Common Shoulder Injuries PRP Can Treat Include:
Bursitis
Fluid filled sacs, known as bursa, are located within the body around the major joints. These sacs provide cushioning to the joints and reduce the friction between them, allowing improved motion of the joint they surround. Obviously, these sacs are important for a variety of daily activities.
When a particular joint is used excessively or is damaged through a sudden extreme impact, these sacs may become inflamed, causing swelling, pain, and irritation.
The condition is particularly common in people over the age of 40, and in those who carry out similar motions using a particular joint very frequently, or who put a lot of pressure on the same joint for a long period of time. Examples of such activities are gardening, construction, and many sports such as tennis or skiing.
If joints or the surrounding areas are damaged, then bursitis may be more likely to occur since the bursae are under more pressure due to the lack of surrounding supportive tissues. The disease can also be caused by an injury or through an infection, although this is less likely.
Though the condition is likely to flare up when a particular joint is overused, those who suffer from the condition are more likely to repeatedly experience the symptoms.
When it comes to bursitis, traditional treatments are not always effective and can have significant side effects which limits their repeated use. This can cause significant issues for patient quality of life.
Thankfully, PRP therapy has been shown to produce more effective and longer lasting results than previous methods.
Tendinitis
Tendinitis describes inflammation in the tendons of your shoulder. A tendon is a thick cord that connects bone to muscle.
You can develop tendinitis if you make a lot of overhand movements at work or while playing sports, such as repeatedly throwing a baseball. This condition can become chronic if you have a degenerative disease like osteoarthritis.
Tendonitis is a painful condition that’s slow to heal. In fact, the longer it lasts, the more likely you are to suffer a complete rupture that requires surgery. Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections may be the boost you need to heal and get back to action more quickly.
Tendon Tears
Tendon tears are a common side effect of acute injuries. It’s fairly common for people who play sports or do construction work to suffer rotator cuff tears.
The typical symptoms of a rotator cuff tear include:
- General aching and pain, including at night which can make it hard to sleep
- Stiffness and an inability to reach overhead or behind you
- Muscle weakness when lifting your arm or trying to hold something up
- A constant, dull ache deep within your shoulder
- Crackling and grinding sensations when you rotate your arm
You might also be at risk for tendon tears in the shoulder as you get older.
Often tears develop in the rotator cuff, a group of muscles and tendons that keep your shoulder joint in place.
Tears can be partial or a complete separation from the bone. PRP injections support new tissue growth to help partial tears heal without surgery.
Deciding when to use PRP for Shoulder Injuries
Today, regenerative medicine treatments offer an exceptional alternative to treatment with the minimally invasive platelet-rich plasma injections.
The injections provide pain relief and restore strength while helping many patients avoid the risks and recovery associated with shoulder surgery.
Although PRP is frequently used to promote healing of tendon, ligament, and muscle injuries in the shoulder, it’s such a cutting-edge therapy that standard treatment protocols are still being developed.
For this reason, it’s important to get your PRP treatment at the offices of Southern Pain And Spine Specialists located at either our Matthews, or Waxhaw, NC location, where we keep up-to-date with the latest research and have extensive experience using PRP injections.
If you have persistent shoulder pain or you have questions about whether you’re a good candidate for PRP treatment, call the offices of Southern Pain And Spine Specialists at 833-704-7246 and press 1 for pain management. Or simply click here to schedule a consultation with us right away.
