PRP Injections For Chronic Pain

Convenient Location

8054 Yonge St. Thornhill. Just south of the intersection of Yonge and HWY 7/407

About Referrals

You need to be referred by your physician. Click here for information.

Covered by OHIP?

Most services are covered by the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP)

Convenient Location

8054 Yonge St. Thornhill. Just south of the intersection of Yonge and HWY 7/407

Patient Referral Form

You need to be referred by your physician. Click to download your form here.

Waiting Time

Your timeframe depends on the type of procedure.

OHIP Covered Services

Most services are covered by the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP)

WILDERMAN MEDICAL CLINIC

What are PRP injections?

PRP, or platelet-rich plasma, is composed of two elements of a person’s blood: the plasma, which is the liquid part of the blood, and platelets.

While platelets are most commonly known for their clotting abilities, they have several other important roles in the body, including releasing growth factors that recruit cells involved in tissue repair and regeneration.

These two elements are very important for a body’s day-to-day functioning, but in recent years they have also become an invaluable tool for treating specific musculoskeletal injuries or conditions.

Experience the Power of PRP Injections For Chronic Pain

Chronic pain should not dictate your life. At Wilderman Medical Clinic, our PRP treatments harness the natural healing mechanisms of the body to alleviate discomfort. Do not let pain hold you back any longer.

Find your relief with PRP

PRP stimulates the body’s natural healing process

PRP has been used since approximately 1987 to help promote healing in dental, orthopedic, and plastic surgery procedures. Over the last decade, it has been recognized for its potential in treating both chronic and acute musculoskeletal injuries involving tendons, ligaments, joints, and muscles.

For a PRP treatment, the plasma and platelets need to be isolated from the other components of a patient’s blood. To do this, a blood sample is drawn from the patient and then placed in a device called a centrifuge.

The centrifuge spins rapidly to separate the components of the blood, allowing the clinician to isolate a solution containing plasma and a concentrated amount of the patient’s platelets.

This mixture can then be injected into the target area, where it stimulates the body’s natural healing process.

Because these injections use components of the individual’s own blood, there is no concern about adverse reactions to a foreign substance, such as an allergic reaction.

What conditions can PRP treat?

A variety of conditions can be treated with PRP injections; however, current studies show that PRP is most effective in treating osteoarthritis of various joints and chronic tendon injuries affecting the ankle, knee, and elbow.

Injections can also facilitate healing for injured muscles, ligaments, and intervertebral discs.

What are the potential benefits and risks?

While PRP has been used for many musculoskeletal disorders, carefully controlled studies are not currently available for the majority of musculoskeletal conditions.

Injection of PRP into degenerated or partially torn tendons has been shown to be effective in the majority of patients; this includes the Achilles tendon, elbow tendons, rotator cuff, and hamstring tendons.

PRP may also be beneficial in the treatment of muscle strain injuries; however, it is important to note that these results may not translate directly to the successful treatment of other tendons or conditions.

As such, how effective PRP will be in treating a particular condition is not known. Many studies support the use of PRP treatments in osteoarthritis but controlled studies with a low risk of bias are still needed to confirm its efficacy.

Overall, if your physician feels that PRP is a reasonable alternative compared with the alternatives, such as cortisone injection, surgery, or oral medications combined with physical therapy, and that the potential benefits appear to outweigh the risks, PRP may be recommended.

Because PRP is derived from autologous cells (a patient’s own cells), there is no risk of an allergic or immune response to the treatment.

Side effects or complications

Side effects or complications of a PRP treatment are extremely rare; these risks include a very small chance of local infection (at the site of the injection) and temporary pain and inflammation in the treatment area.

There is a possibility of mild discomfort or pain during the injection procedure; to alleviate this discomfort, a local anesthetic will be used at the site of the injection, which will numb the skin prior to the PRP treatment.

Your physician may prescribe pain medication to be taken if you experience significant discomfort following the procedure; however, it is advised that you STOP taking any NSAID (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory) medications, such as Ibuprofen, Advil, Naproxen, Indomethacin, Diclofenac, Ketorolac, or acetaminophen-containing medications (like Tylenol), as well as aspirin seven days prior to your procedure and do not take them again for seven days after your procedure.

This is because these medications alter platelet behavior, which may render the PRP injection ineffective.

Research suggests that selective non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications, such as celecoxib (also known as Celebrex) may be safe to use before and after the PRP injection.

What do we treat at Wilderman Medical Clinic?

At the Wilderman Medical Clinic, located in Thornhill, Ontario, we have been performing PRP treatments for over a decade.

Every treatment is performed using ultrasound guidance to maximize safety and precision. Two PRP treatment options are available:

Standard Level PRP

Standard Level PRP may require a minimum of three treatments (likely three separate appointments) for best results. This type of injection offers a base level of PRP concentration. Standard Level PRP injections do not have as high a level of concentration of PRP as High-End PRP injections.

High-End PRP

High-End PRP injections have a higher concentration of PRP and most patients require fewer injections to reach the same results as with Standard Level PRP. Usually, a patient needs only one, sometimes two injections of High-End PRP versus three injections of Standard Level PRP to experience a similar amount of pain relief.

What do we treat?

We offer PRP treatments for a range of acute and chronic musculoskeletal injuries and conditions, including:

Soft tissue injuries and conditions of the tendons, ligaments, muscles, and joints

A recent study, published in July 2021, noted that patients with acute and chronic pain from soft tissue injuries reported a significant decrease in their pain scores after treatment with PRP injections without using additional pain management medications.

The study authors noted that “increased platelet concentration is believed to escalate the total growth factors released, which enhance healing and the regeneration process” (Irianto et al. 2021).

At WMC, our soft tissue PRP treatments include the following conditions:

Trochanteric bursitis
Bursitis of the knee
Ischial tuberosity bursitis
Achilles tendonitis
Bicipital tendonitis
De Quervain’s tenosynovitis
Rotator cuff syndrome
Trigger finger
Knee ligament tendonitis and tears
Calcaneal spurs
Plantar fasciitis
Meniscal tears
Baker’s cysts
Medial and lateral epicondylitis

Osteoarthritis

PRP treatments for osteoarthritis are growing in popularity as a growing body of research supports their efficacy.

An article published in 2019 in the journal of Therapeutic Advances in Chronic Disease reviewed the results of current studies on PRP use for osteoarthritis.

The authors concluded that “results from randomized clinical trials seem to favor PRP used over other IA treatments such as HA injections, to improve pain scales in the short and medium term (6-12 months)” (Gato-Calvo et al. 2019).

At WMC, the following osteoarthritis conditions are most commonly treated:

Osteoarthritis of the knee
Osteoarthritis of the hip
Osteoarthritis of the lumbar spine
Other osteoarthritis conditions can also be treated.

Discover the Future of Pain Management with PRP

If you are seeking a natural alternative to traditional pain management methods, look no further than PRP treatments at Wilderman Medical Clinic. Our comprehensive approach combines advanced ultrasound guidance with customized PRP formulations to address a wide range of musculoskeletal issues, from rotator cuff syndrome to plantar fasciitis.

Find your relief with PRP

How to book an appointmentWilderman Medical Clinic (WMC)2023-03-29T19:00:49+00:00

How to book an appointment

To book an appointment for a PRP consultation with one of our specialists, call 905-886-1212 and one of our receptionists will be happy to assist you.

Who is eligible for PRP treatments?Wilderman Medical Clinic (WMC)2023-03-29T19:00:55+00:00

Who is eligible for PRP treatments?

PRP treatments can be recommended for patients suffering from acute soft-tissue injuries, chronic soft-tissue injuries, wear-and-tear injuries, sports injuries, motor vehicle accident related pain, and osteoarthritis. A consultation with one of our specialists will help you determine if PRP injections would be beneficial to you. PRP treatments are used most frequently for professional athletes and professional ballet dancers. The treatments are approved by many insurance carriers in the United States at this time, but they have not yet been approved by Canadian insurance companies. At this time, Canada has received approvals for PRP treatments by Veteran Affairs, WSIB, and MVA cases. As the body of research grows for PRP treatments, their use will likely become more widely accepted.

Our clinic is located in Thornhill, Ontario, and serves patients from Markham, Richmond Hill, Vaughan, North York, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Scarborough, Stouffville, other areas of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), and throughout Ontario. We even have patients travel from as far away as Thunder Bay. We also see patients traveling from other provinces in Canada, as well as the USA, and other countries.

Are PRP treatments covered by OHIP?Wilderman Medical Clinic (WMC)2023-03-29T19:01:01+00:00

Are PRP treatments covered by OHIP?

Unfortunately, PRP treatments are not covered by OHIP at this time, nor are they covered by most medical insurance carriers. The cost of a PRP treatment varies depending the size of the area being treated and the concentration of PRP used (standard vs. high end PRP). The cost of PRP treatments at the Wilderman Medical Clinic may be slightly higher than some other PRP clinics in Toronto because we use ultrasound guidance in every treatment to ensure safety and efficacy of the treatment; however, the use of ultrasound is not required in Ontario and so some clinics may offer PRP at a discounted rate by skipping this step. An injection of PRP at our clinic ranges in price from $600-1200.

What are the possible side effects?Wilderman Medical Clinic (WMC)2023-03-29T19:01:05+00:00

What are the possible side effects?

While PRP injections are considered very safe, particularly given that autologous cells (cells from the patient’s own body) are used in the injection, some side effects are possible. These side effects may include:

Temporary localized bruising and tenderness at the injection site
Bleeding
Infection

What are the benefits?Wilderman Medical Clinic (WMC)2023-03-29T19:01:11+00:00

What are the benefits?

Unlike many of the typical treatments for injuries that result in ongoing pain, PRP treatments are non-invasive, restorative, and have minimal side-effects. Pain medications are commonly prescribed to treat chronic pain; however, these medications only mask pain and do not treat the injury itself. Additionally, pain medications are accompanied by a host of negative side effects, including drowsiness, constipation, gastrointestinal discomfort, and possible addiction. Cortisone injections are also offered as treatment for ongoing joint pain; however, long-term use of cortisone injections comes with the risk of developing early osteoarthritis. Surgery is also a possible treatment for various painful injuries, but it is invasive and is associated with its own risks and side-effects.

PRP injections, however, have rare and minimal side-effects. In addition to being safe and non-toxic, these injections are believed to promote the natural healing process within your body, helping to strengthen injured tissues and decrease pain and inflammation, rather than masking the symptoms, as pain medications do. PRP injections have the additional benefit of utilizing autologous cells (meaning cells from your own body), which precludes the risk of an allergic reaction. While more high-quality research is needed, studies on the safety and effectiveness of PRP are certainly promising at this time.

What is the success rate?Wilderman Medical Clinic (WMC)2023-03-29T19:01:17+00:00

What is the success rate?

While positive results from PRP treatment are not guaranteed, meaning that some patients may experience a significant reduction in their pain, some may have mildly reduced pain, and some patients, unfortunately, may experience no relief at all. A high-quality study, performed in 2013, found that 83.9% of the patients in the trial that received PRP reported pain reduction of 25% or more 24 weeks after their treatment (Mishra et al. 2013). The success rate for pain reduction with PRP treatment varies from condition to condition, but typically lies in the range of 60-93%, depending on the study consulted. Pain reduction typically lasts for approximately 12 months.

Works Cited

Gato-Calvo L, Magalhaes J, Ruiz-Romero C, Blanco FJ, Burguera EF. Platelet-rich plasma in osteoarthritis treatment: review of current evidence. Ther Adv Chronic Dis. 2019 Feb 19;10:2040622319825567. doi: 10.1177/2040622319825567. PMID: 30815245; PMCID: PMC6383098.

Irianto KA, Bakri AH, Kloping NA. Platelet Rich Plasma Injection for Soft Tissue Musculoskeletal Pain. Malays Orthop J. 2021 Jul;15(2):96-100. doi: 10.5704/MOJ.2107.014. PMID: 34429828; PMCID: PMC8381679.

Mishra AK, Skrepnik NV, Edwards SG, Jones GL, Sampson S, Vermillion DA, Ramsey ML, Karli DC, Rettig AC. Efficacy of platelet-rich plasma for chronic tennis elbow: a double-blind, prospective, multicenter, randomized controlled trial of 230 patients. Am J Sports Med. 2014 Feb;42(2):463-71. doi: 10.1177/0363546513494359. Epub 2013 Jul 3. PMID: 23825183.