Have you ever wondered what causes that persistent shoulder or elbow pain? Surprisingly, it's often not inflammation but rather a lack of proper healing that leads to issues like tennis elbow or partial rotator cuff tears. Chronic tendon damage accumulates due to poor circulation and reinjury, causing discomfort to linger for months or even years.
Introducing orthobiologics- a field offering non-surgical options to kickstart your body's healing process. Using natural healing factors found in your bloodstream, like platelets and their growth factors, orthobiologic treatments stimulate blood flow and recovery through your body's natural inflammatory pathways. Athletes like Payton Manning and Maria Sharapova have benefited from these therapies. If you have lingering shoulder or elbow pain, consider consulting us for orthobiologic therapy-a personalized, natural solution harnessing your body's own healing power.
What is orthobiologic therapy?
Orthobiologic therapy is a cell based treatment that concentrates the platelets and their associated healing factors from your own blood. These healing factors are helpful in healing damaged tissues such as tendons, ligaments, and the linings of joints. The most common form of orthobiologic therapy is platelet rich plasma, also known as PRP therapy.
How does orthobiologic therapy work?
One of the most effective types of orthobiologic therapy involves the use of your own platelets, drawn from your blood and concentrated into an injectable form. Platelets are small blood cells that play a crucial role in wound healing and tissue repair. When a tissue is injured, platelets are the first to arrive at the site of injury. They contain alpha granules which can release various growth factors, including fibroblast growth factor (FGF), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), platelet derived growth factor (PDGF), and other cytokines which promote healing and regeneration of the damaged tissue. Platelets help to orchestrate an incredibly elegant and complicated series of steps some of which are pro-inflammatory, and others that are anti-inflammatory. It is these orderly steps that cause the body to heal damaged tissues like tendon and the lining of joints.
What does platelet rich plasma (PRP) therapy involve?
The procedure involves drawing about 3-4 ounces of the patient's blood and processing it in a centrifuge machine to separate the platelets from other blood components. The concentrated platelets, which are now enriched with healing factors, are then injected into the damaged area of the tendon or ligament.
What are the benefits of PRP therapy?
PRP therapy offers several benefits over traditional treatments for tendon injuries. It is a safe procedure because it uses the patient's own blood, eliminating the risk of an adverse reaction or infection. Additionally, these injections stimulate natural healing processes, leading to faster and more complete recovery. Other treatments like cortisone injections may give short term relief but long term, they may make the problem worse.
Orthobiologic therapy has been studied extensively and compared to various other treatments including cortisone injections and surgery. It has been shown in most studies to be both safe and effective.
Are PRP therapy injections painful?
While they pale in comparison to surgical procedures, these regenerative injections do trigger a potent healing and inflammatory response. In the days following the injection, you might experience notable swelling and discomfort. To reduce the injection pain, we administer a local anesthetic to the area before the procedure. We also prescribe a mild opioid pain killer.
Is PRP therapy covered by insurance?
As of now, Tricare is the only insurance company that pays for PRP therapy, but only for lateral epicondylitis. Other insurance companies and Medicare do not pay for orthobiologic therapy. They are still considered experimental by most insurance companies. This may change in the future since recent meta-analysis studies show support for its safety and effectiveness.
How much does PRP therapy cost?
Our packages, tailored to the number of body parts treated, falls within the range of $1500 to $2250. This includes:
- High concentration factor preparation. This is the core of our treatment. Without adequate concentration, results are less predictable. We also use a proprietary formula to maximize healing while decreasing the discomfort of the injection.
- Ultrasound guidance for the injection. This helps to ensure accurate placement of the healing factors into the damaged areas.
- A special needling technique that improves the healing factor penetration into damaged tissue
- High potency Vitamin C supplements
- Companion videos for the busy person. This includes 12 weeks of exercises that can be done at home in lieu of formal physical therapy.
- We recommend you have someone drive you to the procedure appointment. If you wish, we can provide Lyft Health for transportation. This is included in your treatment cost.
- 12-week follow-up visit in person.
How should I prepare before my treatment?
- Stay well-hydrated before your session, as we'll draw over 100ml of blood for optimal cell and healing factor concentration.
- Avoid heavy or fatty foods 1-2 days prior to your treatment.
- Wait at least 4 weeks after a cortisone injection (if you have had any).
- Refrain from taking anti-inflammatory medications for 2-3 weeks leading up to the injection. Feel free to resume these medications 6 weeks after the procedure. Unsure about your medications? Don't hesitate to ask us.
- We usually prescribe an oral sedative to ease discomfort. For this reason, we recommend you have someone bring you to the appointment. Alternatively, we can arrange a ride through Lyft-Health if needed.
Do orthobiologic therapy injections have any associated risks?
When we inject a body part, there's a minimal chance of introducing skin bacteria that could result in infection. Rest assured, our stringent sterile techniques greatly minimize this risk, making such infections extremely rare. Our self-contained preparation and centrifuge kits ensure no cross-contamination from other individuals' fluids. We've implemented safety measures, including having you confirm your name label on the syringe before injection. These precautions are designed to guarantee your protection against disease transmission. Experiencing unaddressed and intense pain post-injection could lead to nerve irritation, also known as complex regional pain syndrome. We've established preventative measures, such as Vitamin C supplementation and instructions on nerve desensitization, to reduce this risk.
Elbow PRP FAQs
What is PRP?
How does PRP work?
Platelets are small blood cells that play a crucial role in wound healing and tissue repair. When a tissue is injured, platelets are the first to arrive at the site of injury. They contain alpha granules which can release various growth factors, including fibroblast growth factor (FGF), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), platelet derived growth factor (PDGF), and other cytokines which promote healing and regeneration of the damaged tissue.
Platelets and PRP help to orchestrate an incredibly elegant and complicated series of steps some of which are pro-inflammatory, and others that are anti-inflammatory. It is these orderly steps that cause the body to heal damaged tissues like tendon and the lining of joints.
What does a PRP injection involve?
What are the benefits of PRP?
PRP therapy offers several benefits over traditional treatments for tendon injuries. It is a safe procedure because it uses the patient's own blood, eliminating the risk of an adverse reaction or infection. Additionally, PRP injections stimulate natural healing processes, leading to faster and more complete recovery. Other treatments like cortisone injections may give short term relief but long term, they may make the problem worse.
PRP has been studied extensively and compared to various other treatments including cortisone injections and surgery. It has been shown in most studies to be both safe and effective. See the links below for some summary reports on the latest scientific studies on PRP use in elbow conditions.
Is PRP covered by insurance?
- In general, insurance companies and Medicare do not pay for PRP injections. They are still considered experimental by most insurance companies. This may change in the future since recent meta-analysis studies show support for PRP safety and effectiveness. Tricare covers PRP for lateral epicondylitis of the elbow (tennis elbow) as well as for knee arthritis but not for any other diagnoses such as medial epicondylitis (golfer’s elbow).
How much does PRP cost (elbow)?
- Depending on how many body parts are involved, we are able to offer our PRP treatment package to our patients for between $1500 and $2250. This includes:
- High concentration PRP preparation. This is the core of our treatment. Without adequate concentration, results are less predictable. We also use a proprietary blend to maximize healing while decreasing the discomfort of the injection.
- Ultrasound guidance for the injection. This helps to ensure accurate placement of the PRP into the damaged areas.
- A special needling technique that improves the healing factor penetration into damaged tissue
- High potency Vitamin C supplements
- Companion videos for the busy person. This includes 12 weeks of exercises that can be done at home in lieu of formal physical therapy.
- You may drive yourself to and from your appointment. If you wish, we can provide Lyft Health for transportation. This is included in your treatment cost.
- 12 week followup visit in person.
- Soft tissue scraper tool and essential oil for use with the companion videos. (While supplies last).
Are PRP injections painful?
- While they are nowhere near as painful as surgery, PRP injections stimulate a very powerful healing and inflammatory response. This process involves a fair amount of swelling and pain in the initial days after the injection. In order to reduce the pain of the injection, we place local anesthetic in the area prior to the PRP injection.
Are there any special things I should do before my PRP injection?
- You should make sure you are well hydrated for your PRP injection day. We need to draw over 100ml of blood in order to get the highest platelet concentration.
- Avoid any heavy or fatty foods 1-2 days prior to the PRP treatment.
- Wait at least 4 weeks after a cortisone injection (if you have had any).
- Discontinue any anti-inflammatory medication for 2-3 weeks before the injection. It is safe to restart these medications 6 weeks after the injection. Medications in this category include Aspirin, Ibuprofen (Motrin, Advil), Naproxen (Naprosyn, Aleve), Meloxicam (Mobic), Celebrex (Celecoxib), or Indomethacin. If you are unsure about whether your medications are ok, please ask us.
- If you would like, we can prescribe an oral sedative like Xanax to help reduce discomfort. If so, you must have someone else drive you. If you can’t find a ride, we will use Lyft-Health to arrange your ride. If you do not want the sedative, you may drive yourself home afterward.
Do PRP injections have any associated risks?
- Any time we inject a body part, we can introduce skin bacteria which could cause an infection. This is very rare since we use sterile technique.
- Our preparation and centrifuge kits are self-contained which also prevents contamination of fluids from another person. We use safety checks including asking you to read your name label on the syringe before injecting the PRP back into you. All of these steps ensure that you are safe from disease transmission.
- Excessive and untreated pain from an injection can lead to nerve irritation, also known as complex regional pain syndrome. This can be prevented by using vitamin C as well as following our instructions on nerve desensitization. Find out more here.
Shoulder PRP FAQs
What is PRP?
How does PRP work?
Platelets are small blood cells that play a crucial role in wound healing and tissue repair. When a tissue is injured, platelets are the first to arrive at the site of injury. They contain alpha granules which can release various growth factors, including fibroblast growth factor (FGF), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), platelet derived growth factor (PDGF), and other cytokines which promote healing and regeneration of the damaged tissue.
Platelets and PRP help to orchestrate an incredibly elegant and complicated series of steps some of which are pro-inflammatory, and others that are anti-inflammatory. It is these orderly steps that cause the body to heal damaged tissues like tendon and the lining of joints.
What does a PRP injection involve?
What are the benefits of PRP?
PRP therapy offers several benefits over traditional treatments for tendon injuries. It is a safe procedure because it uses the patient's own blood, eliminating the risk of an adverse reaction or infection. Additionally, PRP injections stimulate natural healing processes, leading to faster and more complete recovery. Other treatments like cortisone injections may give short term relief but long term, they may make the problem worse.
PRP has been studied extensively and compared to various other treatments including cortisone injections and surgery. It has been shown in most studies to be both safe and effective. See the links below for some summary reports on the latest scientific studies on PRP use in shoulder conditions.
Is PRP covered by insurance?
- In general, insurance companies and Medicare do not pay for PRP injections. They are still considered experimental by most insurance companies. This may change in the future since recent meta-analysis studies show support for PRP safety and effectiveness. Tricare covers PRP for lateral epicondylitis of the elbow (tennis elbow) as well as for knee arthritis but not for any other diagnoses such as rotator cuff damage or shoulder arthritis.
How much does PRP cost (shoulder)?
- Depending on how many body parts are involved, we are able to offer our PRP treatment package to our patients for between $1600 and $2400. This includes:
- High concentration PRP preparation. This is the core of our treatment. Without adequate concentration, results are less predictable. We also use a proprietary blend to maximize healing while decreasing the discomfort of the injection.
- Ultrasound guidance for the injection. This helps to ensure accurate placement of the PRP into the damaged areas.
- Hyaluronic acid injection. This has been shown to improve results. However, we do not use this if you have allergies to eggs or chicken products.
- High potency Vitamin C supplement
- Companion videos for the busy person. This includes 12 weeks of exercises that can be done at home in lieu of formal physical therapy.
- You may drive yourself to and from your appointment. If you wish, we can provide Lyft Health for transportation. This is included in your treatment cost.
- 12 week followup visit in person.
Are PRP injections painful?
- While they are nowhere near as painful as surgery, PRP injections stimulate a very powerful healing and inflammatory response. This process involves a fair amount of swelling and pain in the initial days after the injection. In order to reduce the pain of the injection, we place local anesthetic in the area prior to the PRP injection.
Are there any special things I should do before my PRP injection?
- You should make sure you are well hydrated for your PRP injection day. We need to draw over 100ml of blood in order to get the highest platelet concentration.
- Avoid any heavy or fatty foods 1-2 days prior to the PRP treatment.
- Wait at least 4 weeks after a cortisone injection (if you have had any).
- Discontinue any anti-inflammatory medication for 2-3 weeks before the injection. It is safe to restart these medications 6 weeks after the injection. Medications in this category include Aspirin, Ibuprofen (Motrin, Advil), Naproxen (Naprosyn, Aleve), Meloxicam (Mobic), Celebrex (Celecoxib), or Indomethacin. If you are unsure about whether your medications are ok, please ask us.
- If you would like, we can prescribe an oral sedative like Xanax to help reduce discomfort. If so, you must have someone else drive you. If you can’t find a ride, we will use Lyft-Health to arrange your ride. If you do not want the sedative, you may drive yourself home afterward.
Do PRP injections have any associated risks?
- Any time we inject a body part, we can introduce skin bacteria which could cause an infection. This is very rare since we use sterile technique.
- Our preparation and centrifuge kits are self-contained which also prevents contamination of fluids from another person. We use safety checks including asking you to read your name label on the syringe before injecting the PRP back into you. All of these steps ensure that you are safe from disease transmission.
- Excessive and untreated pain from an injection can lead to nerve irritation, also known as complex regional pain syndrome. This can be prevented by using vitamin C as well as following our instructions on nerve desensitization. Find out more here.
- Stiffness of the shoulder can develop after a PRP injection due to disuse. In order to prevent this, we prescribe physical therapy which can be started 1 week after the injection. We also have a companion series of videos for the busy person which can be done in lieu of physical therapy.
To schedule a consultation, please call or contact Dr. Sohn's office, proudly serving the communities of San Juan Capistrano, Laguna Woods, Laguna Niguel, Dana Point, Mission Viejo, Irvine, San Clemente, and Fountain Valley.