Body, Heal Thyself

Experts Say A Dose Of The Body's Own Platelets Can Speed Recovery From Injuries

(CBS)  Jonathan Bornstein has emerged as one of the best young soccer players in the country; he was named rookie of the year in Major League Soccer. But everything changed this spring when he twisted his knee in practice.

"I knew something was wrong, and I knew that I was going to have to take some time to heal," Bornstein says.

Bornstein had suffered a torn ligament in his knee. He would be out of action for six to 10 weeks, CBS News medical correspondent Dr. Jon LaPook reports.

"I was pretty bummed to find out I might be missing the first game, maybe a couple more games," Bornstein says. "I didn't really think there was much I could do to get back earlier."

But Dr. Michael Gearhart did. A leading sports medicine expert, he believes we can speed up the body's ability to heal itself with a remarkably simple technique.

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Only On The Web: More with sports medicine expert Dr. Michael Gearhart.

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It's called Platelet Rich Plasma therapy — or PRP. Doctors spin a few tablespoons of a patient's own blood, separating out the platelets.

Normally, platelets help the blood to clot — but they also promote healing. With PRP, this concentration of platelets is injected directly into the injury — in Bornstein's case, his knee.

"Platelets are an amazing substance. They are packed full of growth factors, of healing factors, and when given into a specific area, you get a hyper-healing response," Gearhart says.

Bornstein was thrilled to get back on the field quickly.

"I was back running in around three weeks, and I was ready to play in about 4 1/2. five (weeks)," he says.

Doctor are taking the first steps to move this treatment beyond the world of the elite athlete. The hope is that the same technology that allowed Bornstein to get back on the field so quickly can now be used to treat injuries in weekend warriors as well.

Anosheh Emery is trying PRP as a last resort to help his chronic tennis elbow and painful knee tendinitis. He is one of the few patients to get it so far — clinical trials are now testing PRP's safety and effectiveness. Side effects reportedly have been minor; it seems like the biggest problem so far: The needles hurt.

"It's painful, but its nothing you can't bear," Emery says. But was the pain worth it? "Oh, definitely. They say, 'no pain, no gain.' I definitely had some pain, and there was a lot of gain."

The hope is that if PRP can get an elite athlete like Bornstein up and running, it can help the baby boom generation and their creaky joints get back in the game.

[mormarjor]

I am interested in knowing if PRP would be benificial to an ACL after surgery?

[alphaa10-2009]

This kind of medical story is truly news-- both medically advanced and containing enough information to be useful to prospective patients.

Unlike "slow news day" stories about losing weight or the best diet, news about innovative approaches to aid recovery from injury are immediate and very critical to the patient.

To CBS staff-- keep such stories coming. Plunder the journals and digests, so finding health news of real value will never be a challenge.

[att1930]

I had total Knee replacement Dec 2006 and I still have severe pain, swelling and stiffness when I stand or walk. I am 77 and still trying to work a 40 hr week. I would like to know if PRP procedure might be the healing process I need before the Dr goes back Into the knee to see what is causing the swelling and Inflamation. Also is it possible an MRI would show what is causing my problem?

ATT1930

[jctackett]

i need 2 total knee replace, 1'm only 48 with his of dvt's & pe + sta infec, curr on 10mg coumadin dai, infec was n left knee, cur unbearable 2 walk, would like 2 get back 2 some normal living, do u think this may help

[prpfan]

Misleading report! The first published report of the value of PRP therapy for chronic tendonitis (tennis elbow) was published in The American Journal of Sports Medicine (November 2006) by Allan Mishra, MD and Terri Pavelko, PAC, PT at the Menlo Medical Clinic, Stanford University Medical Center, CA. The CBS News piece seems to suggest that Dr. Gearhardt "invented" the technique. Mishra and Pavelko were the FIRST to publish in a scientific journal results showing that this new biologic treatment works for chronic tennis elbow sufferers. For those interested in a multicenter clinical trial of PRP therapy please email [e-mail] or see www.apexprp.com.

[prpinfo]

Platelet rich plasma (PRP) has become an emerging biologic tool in medicine. This story helped expose the public to the potential of PRP. I would suggest, however, that readers and viewers seek out the science of PRP not the hype. The best places on the web to learn more about PRP are ApexPRP.com and plateletrichplasma.blogspot.com

The American Journal of Sports Medicine (Mishra, Nov. 2006) published the first and ONLY controlled study of PRP for elbow tendinitis. It has also published a study that supports its use in achilles tendon repairs (Feb. 2007).

As PRP becomes more mainstream, I would suggest CBS educate patients with data not hype and do a story with the doctors and journals that truly are advancing medicine.