Lakers point guard D’Angelo Russell will miss 2 weeks after receiving a platelet rich plasma injection to his knee. USA Today reports that Russell has missed two of the Laker’s last three games with soreness in his left knee, but the second year point guard had thought it wasn’t a serious injury.
Russell is one of several athletes to join Kobe Bryant, Tiger Woods, and Stephen Curry to choose PRP over cortisone injections. Platelet rich plasma, or PRP, is a concentrated form of of growth factors and cell mediators that have been shown to greatly promote the repair of damaged tissues. The knees might become damaged due to trauma, such as a car accident or sports injury. The knee joint may also break down over time due to a chronic condition called osteoarthritis. The breakdown of the knee tissue will eventually lead to pain, joint stiffness, and sometimes swelling.
Cortisone is a corticosteroid, it is not a natural drug and relief is temporary. PRP, or platelet rich plasma, is 100% natural and developed from the patient’s own blood.
PRP heals the wound not studies indicate that platelet rich plasma has a healing effect on the body by regenerating the damaged tissue in a much shorter down time.
PRP can be injected into the spine as well as the extremities. PRP injections into the knee were a choice both Kobe Bryant and Stephen Curry made to get back in the game. While Stephen Curry was expected to be out for two weeks, after receiving PRP he made it back into game 3 of the playoffs.
Orthopedic Surgeon and Spine Specialist Dr. Michael Moheimani has a solution for knee pain with a natural non surgical approach to medicine through platelet rich plasma injections to the spine, reducing the need for invasive surgery, the need for opioid use, and avoiding potential misuse.