Platelet Rich Plasma Therapy (PRP) is an all natural therapy for joint, tendon and ligament injuries. It is quicker, more cost effective, and safer than many other medical alternatives. Platelets (thrombocytes) are small disk shaped cells within your blood that contain natural sources of growth factors, proteins and cytokines that stimulate the healing of bone, joint and soft tissues. Brought to you by ThriveMD Vail & Aspen, Colorado: http://thrivemdvail.com/prp-platelet-rich-plasma-therapy/ You’ve probably heard about “PRP” being used to assist professional athletes like Tiger Woods, Rafael Nadal, Kobe Bryant and Troy Polamalu speed up their healing time. These athletes received PRP Therapy after experiencing injuries that should have sidelined them for months, but instead experienced faster recovery time thanks to PRP treatments. What is PRP Therapy? Platelets (thrombocytes) are small disk shaped cells within your blood that contain natural sources of growth factors, proteins and cytokines that stimulate the healing of bone, joint and soft tissues. You’re smart, inquisitive and probably wondering, “Great, but how does that heal my joints?” Stimulates Growth & Attracts Stem Cells Well, platelets stimulate the healing process by their assistance in blood clotting. By gathering at the site of an injury and attaching to the injured soft tissue, the platelets create a solid foundation for blood coagulation to occur. This results in a formation of a fibrin clot that covers your wound and prevents blood from leaving your body. The platelets do this all while attracting the aid of stem cells. Thus making your fibrin layer an essential platform needed for new tissue to form and healing to occur. Releases Growth Factors (Cytokines) Another extremely important function of platelets is their ability to release growth factors, which are responsible for almost all repair processes that occur in the body. These growth factors are called Cytokines. Cytokines play a very important role in cellular communication and cumulatively accelerate tissue and wound healing. PRP is a consolidation these growth factors and many proteins that collectively stimulate repair and regeneration. The Procedure Here’s the best part: The platelets are naturally harvested from your blood. This ensures nearly no risk of infection or disease transmission and is a completely natural way to heal your ailing joints. The procedure is out-patient.

1. PRP Therapy for
Joint, Tendon
and Ligament
Injuries
ThriveMD, Colorado’s PRP
and Stem Cell expert with
patient facilities in Vail and
Aspen

2. Contents
1. Conditions Treated by Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP)
2. Treatment Options
3. What is PRP
4. How Does PRP Heal Injuries
5. PRP and Autologous Stem Cells
6. PRP Procedures for Joint and Soft Tissue Pain
7. Advantages of PRP for Joint Pain and Soft Tissue Injuries
8. Am I a Candidate
9. ThriveMD Contact Info

3. Conditions Treated by PRP
The following is a representative, non-exhaustive
sample of injuries that PRP can potentially treat:
 Soft tissue injuries are most responsive to PRP
 Joint pain resulting from an acute injury
 Ligament and muscle injuries
 Knee pain, e.g. runner’s knee
 Tendonitis, e.g. tennis elbow
 Osteoarthritis in its very early stages

4. Tendon Injuries Treated by PRP

5. Treatment Options
 Rest from physical activity
 Physical therapy
 Pain medication and anti-inflammatories
 Surgery
In contrast to the treatment options above, PRP can:
 Shorten the time away from activity
 Reduce necessary amounts of medication
 Help avoid invasive treatment with long recovery
times, or speed up recovery

6. What Is PRP
 Platelet-rich plasma is autologous (your body’s own) blood
plasma with concentrated platelets. Typical concentrations of
platelets in PRP are 5-10 times that found in blood.
 Platelets are small disk-shaped cells within your blood that contain
natural sources of growth factors, proteins and cytokines that
stimulate the healing of bone and soft tissues.
 PRP is made of many different growth factors, some of which
include: platelet-derived growth factor, transforming growth
factor beta, insulin-like growth factor 1, insulin-like growth factor 2,
fibroblast growth factor, epidermal growth factor, vascular
endothelial growth factor, interleukin 8, keratinocyte growth
factor, connective tissue growth factor.

7. How Does PRP Heal Injuries
 Platelets stimulate the healing process by the release of
growth factors
 Platelets additionally attract the aid of stem cells,
another natural healing element responsible for re-building
damaged tissue
 Platelets release growth factors responsible
for almost all repair processes that naturally
occur in the body
 Consequently, new tissue is formed and
healing occurs

8. PRP and Autologous Stem Cells
 PRP therapy alone is often not sufficient for treating
chronic joint injuries and degenerative disc disease.
Much more profound results are often seen in these
conditions when PRP is utilized in combination with
stem cell injections.
 Both PRP and stem cells used in treating joints are
autologous, i.e. harvested from your own body.

9. PRP Procedure for Joint and Soft
Tissue Pain
 60 cc’s of your own blood is drawn after a sterile prep
 The blood is centrifuged, separating cells based on their
densities
 Dr. Brandt uses PRP formulas tailored for you and your
specific injury
 The PRP is injected into the injured tissue under live-image
guided injection

10. Advantages of PRP for Joint
Pain and Soft Tissue Injuries
 Safe – utilizing PRP from your own blood mitigates
the risk of disease transmission or rejection reaction.
 Cost-Effective – the procedure is quick and
performed in an office setting, meaning no hospital
or facility costs are incurred.
 Avoidance of invasive surgery.
 All Natural – by using your own harvested
platelets, you are giving your body a chance
to heal itself naturally.

11. Am I a Candidate
 Soft tissue injuries are very responsive to PRP.
 One-on-one consultation can best determine if you
and your specific issue could benefit from PRP.
 Joint conditions that PRP alone are not sufficient for can
very often be treated with stem cells harvested from
your own body.

12. ThriveMD Contact Info
To learn more from our expertise or connect:
 www.thrivemdvail.com/prp (includes list of studies)
 www.facebook.com/thrivemdvail
 http://www.slideshare.net/StemCellExperts
For one-on-one information or to schedule a
consultation:
 info@thrivemdvail.com
 970.766.8245 (Vail facility)
 970.456.3949 (Aspen facility)