Ospina's Secret Sauce: Platelet Lysate by Regenexx for Treating Back Pain
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How are Platelets Relevant to Regenerative Medicine?
Regenerative medicine therapies refer to the use of a patient's own biomaterials to promote the healing of their damaged tissues. In the context of musculoskeletal pain, the tissues being healed are most commonly joints, tendons, muscles, ligaments, and bone. Platelets are a popular biomaterial used for restarting the healing process in these target regions.
Platelets are obtained from blood samples that are usually taken from a patient's left or right arm. Collected blood samples are then processed and refined in a laboratory setting. Various techniques exist to create an assortment of downstream products rich in platelets, which may then be injected into compromised tissues on the same day as they were obtained.
Injections of these biomaterials promote healing in a target area by stimulating 'platelet activation'. This resembles the body's natural healing process initiated upon injury by triggering the influx of biomolecules such as growth factors, cytokines, and other proteins present in the provided serum.
About 4 to 6 weeks after a procedure involving platelet injections, patients may begin seeing relief and improvement to their pain and function. Platelet therapies following Regenexx-patented protocols come in two forms: platelet rich plasma (PRP) injections and platelet lysate (PL) injections.
What is Platelet Lysate and How is it Different from PRP?
The regenerative medicine revolution has allowed for many new biomaterial-based treatments to be made available to individuals afflicted by pain or limited function. Individuals interested in and qualifying for platelet-based therapies provided by Regenexx receive either platelet rich plasma (PRP) injections or platelet lysate (PL) injections. Though PRP and PL are quite similar in how they are obtained and processed in the laboratory, there are key differences to note for each. These differences are important for determining which injection a patient may receive.
Platelet Rich Plasma is the better known of the two platelet-based injections. As previously described, the blood samples obtained are processed and purified in a laboratory setting following collection. Centrifugation of the samples results in the formation of organic layers, from which the plasma layer containing platelets is isolated and further purified and concentrated. The resulting serum can be super-concentrated with up to 30-times the normal platelet concentration in your blood. Non-Regenexx PRP treatments on the market typically only achieve 5-times the normal concentration. What makes Regenexx treatments even more special is how the resulting concentrations of serums are personalized to the tissues being treated, compared to the relatively invariable market standard.
Platelet Lysate is a form of PRP that is patented by Regenexx and is safe for injection into the epidural space of the spinal column. PRP injections are typically a safe and beneficial treatment for conditions of various musculoskeletal tissues; however, they are not suitable for treating injured nerves or conditions of the spinal cord. The PL injections represent a more refined form of PRP that can be used to treat such ailments. There are extra steps taken during laboratory processing that lyse the cell membranes of the platelets and increase growth factor concentrations in the obtained serum.
What Conditions Can Platelet Lysate Treat?
While PRP is more often suitable for treating damage to or conditions of the ligaments, tendons, muscles throughout the body, PL is more focused on treating the spinal cord. More specifically, PL can be particularly helpful at providing relief from a number of conditions or ailments. Some examples include...
- Radiculopathy and Assorted Radicular Back Pains
- Inflammation and Irritation of Nerves due to Spinal Stenosis or Herniated Discs
- Injury to Nerves of the Spinal Column
- Chronic Post-Surgical Pain
- Avoiding Invasive Back Surgery
Here at Ospina Medical, we are pleased to offer Regenexx-patented, regenerative medicine procedures. If you are interested in platelet rich plasma (PRP) or platelet lysate (PL) injections for your pain relief journey, book your initial consultation with Dr. Raj Maniam or Dr. Matthew Kohler today!
Author: Camden Rowe