PRP Is Best For Knee Osteoarthritis– At The Right Dose!

Samuel G Oltman, ND, RMSK

Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) is the best choice of non-surgical therapies for knee osteoarthritis. A recent meta analysis was just published in the journal of Arthroscopy concluding that PRP is superior to other common therapies. The study compared steroid injections, hyaluronic acid injections, physical therapy, drug therapy, bracing, and dietary supplements. PRP produced the best results. 

Platelet Dose Matters

Importantly, the analysis showed that the effectiveness all depends on the platelet dose. Injections of less than 2.5 billion platelets showed no benefit. Injections of more than 5 billion platelets showed benefit for up to 12 months. This could explain why there are so many conflicting studies on PRP: many studies use very low platelet counts and then conclude PRP is ineffective– but with a higher dose it is effective. 

We Make The Best PRP

At Cascade Regenerative Medicine we make excellent PRP. We are experts in the science and production of a quality PRP. We know what we are making because we test every batch we make: We test your whole blood platelet count and we test your PRP platelet count. This is recorded and put in your chart so that we know the exact number of platelets injected in every treatment. Patients with knee osteoarthritis get 8-12 billion platelets with every PRP injection with Dr. Oltman. 

How Do You Know?

There are 2 simple questions to ask your doctor if you’re getting PRP somewhere else:

1. How much blood do you draw? 

2. At least 60cc of blood must be drawn for a single knee injection. 

3. What is my exact platelet dose?

4. If they can’t say, they aren’t testing it, and have no idea what they are injecting. 

These are basic questions that, if not answered properly, means the person you are seeing is not serious about your treatment. 

In the current landscape of flashy marketing and no standardized definitions, patients must be advocates for themselves. You don’t have to know everything, you just have to know what to ask and red flags to be aware of. You should always know the platelet dose of your PRP treatment. It should always be image guided. If either of these criteria are not being met, come see the difference today at Cascade Regenerative Medicine.

References:

Hohmann E. High platelet dose prp may be the nonoperative treatment of choice for knee osteoarthritis. Arthroscopy. Published online April 9, 2024:S0749-8063(24)00269-X.