Platelets are kind of like a group of construction workers. When a tear in tissue occurs, the platelets create a scaffold, bringing those tissues back together and creating collagen and scar tissue to heal the damaged tissue. Tendon, ligament and joint injuries are the most common conditions that are being successfully treated with platelet injections, particularly tennis elbow, plantar fasciitis, knee osteoarthritis and rotator cuff tears. Additionally, there is evidence to support platelet injections’s use in back pain caused by a torn disc.

Carol Ellis, a patient at Center for Spine and Orthopedics came in after saddling horses and lifting bags of grain took a toll on her shoulders. After previously having rotator-cuff surgery, She decided she did not want surgery again, but instead plasma-rich platelet therapy. Read her story below to find out more about her experience.

Throwing hay, saddling horses and lifting 50-pound bags of grain takes a toll on Carol Ellis’s shoulders. Having had surgery for a severe rotator cuff tear more than 15 years ago, her shoulder had not hurt since until just a few years ago. When it started hurting, Ellis decided that she did not want to have surgery again. Instead, she was interested in trying plasma-rich platelet (platelet injections) therapy.

As a horsewoman, Ellis was very familiar with platelet injections. She had been using platelet injections injections on her horses for years with tremendous success. She discussed it with her physiatrist, Dr. George Leimbach, at the Center for Spine and Orthopedics. Dr. Leimbach was skeptical. “He told me that he wasn’t sure it would work,” Ellis recalls. “I thought it would, but I respect that he likes to think things through.” 

Dr. Leimbach agreed to perform Ellis’ platelet injections injection. First, her blood was drawn and centrifuged to concentrate the platelets. Then, Dr. Leimbach injected them back into Ellis’ shoulder.

“The injection hurt like heck, but it relieved my shoulder pain,” says Ellis. “I can throw hay again about 15 feet and no longer have any problem lifting 50-pound bales of hay.”

Though a relatively new treatment for a variety of musculoskeletal injuries, platelet injections is gaining acceptance for treating tendon, ligament and joint injuries. Unlike traditional anti-inflammatory medications that merely mask symptoms, platelet injections offers the chance for real healing.

“When a tear or cut in the tissue occurs, the platelets work to create a scaffold, bringing those tissues back together and producing collagen and scar tissue to heal the torn tissue,“ says Dr. Leimbach. “The platelets also release growth factors and anti-inflammatory medications to help induce healing.”

platelet injections’s Effectiveness

Research about platelet injections’s effectiveness shows a wide variety of findings, and research is ongoing. One of the keys to successful treatment with platelet injections appears to be the exact placement of the injection. With 30 years of experience each, Dr. Leimbach and Dr. Paul Leo administer platelet injections very precisely, using image guidance with ultrasound, or in the case of disc pain, with fluoroscopy to ensure that the platelet injections gets to the exact site of injury. 

platelet injections is particularly recommended as an option when traditional treatment options have failed or are otherwise not indicated.