Fitness myths, training truths, and other surprising discoveries from the science of exercise
Platelet-rich plasma therapy was a super-hot topic a couple of years ago (see earlier blog posts about it), in part because of reports that top athletes like Tiger Woods were using it to speed their recovery from injuries. These days, the fuss has died down a bit. The novelty is gone, subsequent studies haven’t produced …
Yet another salvo in the ongoing debate about whether platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy — sometimes known as “blood spinning” — is a miracle tendon healer or an expensive placebo. At an American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine conference in San Diego, researchers presented the results of a new study of PRP for rotator cuff tendon …
Continue reading “Platelet-rich plasma doesn’t work for rotator cuff (shoulder) tendons”
Today’s Globe has my article on new approaches to treating and preventing Achilles tendinopathy, including platelet-rich plasma therapy, a.k.a. blood spinning. Since I’m in Delhi, I had a chance to speak to the experts here with the Canadian team, and to Megan Wright (2008 Olympic 5,000-metre finalist who missed most of 2009 with Achilles tendon …
Continue reading “Achilles tendons, platelet-rich plasma and Megan Wright”
The current issue of the British Journal of Sports Medicine has a couple of articles on platelet-rich plasma therapy, the experimental treatment that made headlines thanks to the Anthony Galea scandal and its links to Tiger Woods and other famous athletes. It’s most commonly used (in sports circles) for tendon injuries, but Kimberley Harmon of …
“Platelet-rich plasma therapy” is a pretty hot topic these days, what with sports doc Anthony Galea (who has performed the technique on countless professional athletes) under the microscope because of a criminal investigation, and recreational athletes getting in on the action too. It’s a pretty simple concept: extract the patient’s blood, spin it in a …
Continue reading “Platelet-rich plasma therapy: just another placebo?”