To collect plasma, a provider draws blood from your body and uses a machine to separate the platelet-rich plasma from the rest of the blood. Then the provider numbs the area of your body being treated with PRP injections. Once you’re numb, the provider uses a needle to inject your plasma into the area of your body being treated.

You’ll likely need to stop taking certain medications that thin your blood, like aspirin and ibuprofen, before you get PRP injections. You may also need to take a break from certain vitamins or supplements, such as omega-3 fatty acids. Your doctor can tell you exactly what you need to do to prepare for these shots.

PRP doesn’t usually cause major side effects. But because it involves drawing blood, you’ll want to make sure you eat before the procedure. That will help you avoid feeling lightheaded when you get PRP injections.

After the shot, you shouldn’t wash the area that was treated for 48 hours. You might notice some soreness and bruising in the area that received injections. If you feel sharp or intense pain, let your doctor know.

Recovery time can vary, but in most cases it’s zero. Most of our patients can resume their daily work activities immediately after the treatment.

For most patients, the treatment is almost completely painless and they are able to get back to doing what they need to in no time at all.

In fact a lot of our patients have the procedure done over lunch and are able to work the rest of their day.

Viscosupplementation can significantly reduce pain while improving the mobility and function of the joint to make activities of daily living and even athletic or strenuous exercise less painful.

Viscosupplementation is a procedure that involves injecting hyaluronic acid, a gel-like fluid, directly into the joint. Hyaluronic acid is found naturally in the synovial fluid surrounding the joints to reduce friction during movement. The injection goes into effect by lubricating the joint and assisting the synovial fluid to create more cushion. This works to reduce pain and improve the range of motion or the mobility of the joint.

During a viscosupplementation treatment, your doctor will administer between three and five injections to the affected area. These will typically be injected one week apart from each other.

While not all patients experience relief with viscosupplementation, many patients report feeling a decrease in pain over the course of a three- to five-week period after the injections are administered. Patients report that the most significant level of pain relief comes two to three months after the first injection.

Depending on the patient, the length of pain relief will vary. Patients often report improvement of symptoms for six months or more after the treatment.

As with other types of injections, patients who receive viscosupplementation generally report feeling slight pain at the site of the injection. Swelling, heat, itchiness and bruising around the joint can also occur.