Golfers turning to PRP for off-season recovery

Dec. 17, 2014 - PRLog -- With Englishman Danny Willett picking up the second European Tour title of his career at the Nedbank Golf Challenge tournament in Sun City last weekend, the focus now turns to recovery following another hard season of golf. One of the potential treatments professional golfers will be considering is that of platelet-rich plasma (PRP), according to new research by private healthcare search engine, www.WhatClinic.com.

PRP therapy involves drawing the patient’s own blood, passing the blood through a centrifuge to separate out the platelets, and then injecting platelet rich plasma back into the patient’s muscles or tendons. The treatment has proven to be effective on many musculoskeletal injuries such as tendonitis by stimulating healing. Tiger Woods has cited PRP as part of his recovery regime for is torn ACL, (anterior cruciate ligament) and also when he tore his right achilles. Basketballs’ Kobe Bryant and Tennis’s Rafael Nadal are also fans of the treatment.

The internet came close to breaking last year when Kim Kardashian snapped herself in the moments following a PRP facial - or better known as a ‘vampire facial’. Instead of injecting the platelets into torn ligaments or damages muscles, they are instead injected in a variety of sites around the face, under the surface of the skin with the aim of rejuvenating and restoring the complexion.

Emily Ross, director of WhatClinic.com, says: “High performance drives innovation and PRP has been developed as a way to bring platelet rich plasma directly to the point of injury to stimulate the healing process, faster than physiotherapy-aided recovery and with less risk or down time than surgery.  As the patient’s own blood product is used, the treatment has been said to be safer.”

However, Ross stresses that the treatment should only be carried out by a licensed medical professional.  Any patient, whether for sports injury or for cosmetic beauty, should be well informed of any potential risk and make sure that their clinician is both qualified and experienced in the procedure.

Currently, there are six clinics in South Africa offering the treatment. They are Best Body Skin, The Melrose Aesthetic Centre, Life Fourways Hospital, and the Lightsculpt Aesthetic Clinic in Johannesburg, the Rajeuni Aesthetic & Laser Clinic in Welkom, and The Louis Leipoldt Mediclinic in Cape Town.