MD Podiatrist Discusses the Use of PRP Therapy

Platelet-rich plasma therapy (PRP) aims—and claims—to supercharge the body’s natural recovery processes, whether needed for a strained muscle or a scalp sparse from hair loss. With an injury, the platelet is what “creates a clot and sends out growth factors and a whole host of other chemicals to start this very beautiful and predictable chain of events—the inflammatory cycle itself,” explains Dan Michaels, DPM. “So the idea [with PRP] is: Can we make that very potent, our body’s own natural way of healing?”

“Prior to me knowing much about PRP, I just viewed it as an expensive Hail Mary right before you go to surgery,” says Dr. Michaels. “Now I am a full-fledged believer in our body’s own power to heal.” Dr. Michaels says clinicians should be injecting with the guidance of an ultrasound “so you know exactly where you’re putting it.”