Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP)
What is Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP)?
PRP is obtained by spinning a sample of your own blood at high speed to separate the red blood cells from the plasma (liquid non cellular part of your blood) and platelets thus obtaining a platelet-rich plasma (PRP). Therefore, PRP is the normal liquid fraction of blood containing a much higher total number of platelets (between 5-10x normal).
How will I know if PRP will help me specifically?
Your doctor will recommend this procedure only if they think it may have the ability to help you. The conditions most suited to PRP are tennis or golfers’ elbow, mild to moderate osteoarthritis of the knee, sacroiliac joint and Achilles tendinopathy or partial tear. Your doctor will discuss other potential diagnoses with you that might be assisted by PRP. It is important to understand that PRP might NOT help you even under optimal conditions.Â
How much does it cost?
MSP does not cover PRP so this is a private pay service.  Patients may be able to check with an extended health insurer about coverage.
Included in Fee:
- All Supplies
- Physician Fee
We require a 50% deposit to be paid one week prior to your scheduled PRP. The remaining 50% will be paid before the start of the PRP. We accept Mastercard, Visa, or debit.
Service
- Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) for single area treatment
Duration
- 1 hour
Cost
- $1,650.00
PRP FAQs
Platelets are blood cells with several roles to play in the body. One is to promote blood clotting so that a person does not excessively bleed when they are cut. Another is to help wounds to heal. Researchers theorize that by injecting areas of inflammation or tissue damage with high concentrations of platelets, it can encourage wounds to heal.
A small blood sample (30-60 ml) is taken from a vein in the person’s arm and put into a centrifuge that spins at high speed. This process separates platelets from other blood components. The concentration of platelets is then injected into the area of the person’s body that needs to be treated. Because the injection contains a high concentration of platelets, which can be from 5 to 10 times more than the untreated blood, doctors theorize that the platelets will assist the healing of an injured body part. PRP has been shown in some but not all clinical studies to reduce pain from certain types of soft tissue injuries. The best evidence to date is for persons with tennis/golfers’ elbow or osteoarthritis of the knee.
You will stop all anti-inflammatory medication (including corticosteroids, Advil, Celebrex, Diclofenac, baby aspirin, others) 7 days prior to your PRP procedure. We will not resume anti-inflammatory for 4 weeks following your PRP procedure.
Within 14 days of your PRP procedure you will present to your local medical laboratory to have your blood tested for your platelet concentration. changepainTM will provide you with a requisition for this purpose.
Prior to your PRP procedure you will pre-book physiotherapy appointments on a weekly basis beginning 14 days after your PRP procedure and extending to 6 weeks following your PRP procedure.
Your PRP procedure will take approximately 60 minutes and will be divided into the following phases:
- A small syringe of your blood will be taken from you in a manner identical to when you have your blood sample in the medical laboratory.
- Your blood sample will be processed in a centrifuge to obtain a platelet rich plasma. The final volume of the sample to be injected will vary but will be approximately 5-10 mL.
- Under sterile conditions and with ultrasound guided imagery the PRP will be injected into the affected tissue region.
- After your injection you will have an observation phase at changepain of approximately 30-60 minutes to ensure that your well and without significant discomfort.
Your PRP physician will discuss the specific circumstance with you. Clinical studies demonstrate some evidence for increasing benefit from a second PRP injection administered 6-8 weeks after the initial PRP injection. If a second PRP injection does not produce significant benefit, then a third injection would need further discussion as a small number of people need between 2 to 5 injections.
After the injection, you should expect a strong inflammatory response which is painful up to 2 weeks but usually only a few days and it is helped with simple medications which your doctor will discuss with you. If you experience pain after the procedure, do not take anti-inflammatories (e.g. Advil).
- We use state of the art technology and high sterility standards;
- We are an accredited pain clinic in BC with high level expertise and experience in chronic pain interventions;
- We explore all appropriate non-PRP procedures to optimize effective solutions;
- We offer cutting edge evidence-based therapies and we are constantly reviewing data to improve these results.
- Anyone with an abnormality of platelet function or number such as but not limited to thrombocytopenia (low platelet count)
- Anyone with low fibrinogen levels
- Anyone with acute and chronic infections or skin disease at the PRP injection site
- Anyone with chronic liver disease
- Anti-coagulation therapy (warfarin, dabigatran, heparin)
- Persons on chemotherapy or certain other immune or platelet related medications
- Persons dependant on anti-inflammatory medication, who are unable to stop it
- Persons with an artificial knee
Every patient’s response is different. The pain relief should be a minimum of several months, and some people experience full resolution. It is common for patients to require repeat injection 6-12 months following their PRP procedure. For some patients PRP will have little or no effect on pain levels.
As with any procedure, there are some risks and side effects. Like all invasive procedures some patients will have side effects and others won’t. Your PRP doctor will discuss these risks with you.
Mild side effects include: Local injection site pain and mild bruising
Moderate side effects include: Localized skin infection at the injection site, moderate bruising or hematoma formation
Severe risks include: Severe intra-articular infection also known a septic arthritis, severe intra-articular bleeding, contiguous structural damage such as nerve or blood vessel injury, or allergy (severe swelling, hives, low blood pressure)
Fourteen days after your PRP injection you will commence specific physiotherapy. You will have booked these physiotherapy appointments prior to your PRP injection. Specific physio will be conducted for a minimum of 6 weeks following your first physiotherapy consultation 14 days after your PRP injection. You should not take any anti-inflammatories for at least 4 weeks after your procedure.
Recommended Service Add-Ons:
In order to provide multi-disciplinary care, the doctor may also recommend a number of private pay add-ons.Prices may vary depending on the service provider. Please inquire for pricing. These may include:
- Physiotherapy is essential to your recovery
- Needling treatments
We require at least 48 hours’ notice to cancel your appointment.
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If you cancel more than 48 hours in advance, we will refund your deposit with a $50 deduction for the admin fee.
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If you cancel within less than 48 hours the deposit is non-refundable.
Please contact our Private Pay Services Coordinator
Call 604-566-9101, ext. 105 or
Email privateservices@changepain.ca
GALLERY
