subject: Kobe Bryant's Prp Knee Treatment Explained [print this page] Kobe Bryant went to Germany last month to have an innovative PRP knee treatment on his right knee. if you're wondering what this is exactly, keep reading!
Because Kobe is a top athlete, he has damaged areas of his knee where he lost cartilage. In May of 2010, he had surgery to have fragments removed from his knee.
Then Kobe went to Germany to have the PRP done. P stands for platelets and is derived from your own blood. During a PRP, some of your blood is removed, the cells and plasma are taken out and all you have are platelets remaining.
These platelets are highly concentrated, about 10 times the concentration of what is in your normal blood. The platelets can then be injected directly into damaged areas (such as a knee) and jump start the growth of normal and new tissue. Blood platelets contain "potent globe factors" which are necessary to begin tissue repair and regenerate an injury site.
This technology has been around since the 70s, but around the past five years, it's become more popular because doctors realized that these concentrated platelets contain large reservoirs of globe factors and cytokines.
Not only do they provide a scaffold for healing tissues in damaged areas, they also induce those cells to produce more cartilage. On top of that, they are significant anti-inflammatory agents as well. For Kobe's knee, this actually is one of the best options that is out there.
Kobe most likely went to Germany to have the PRP done because in the US there has been a lot of controversy about the usage of PRP. A lot of physicians started using it without understanding why and what they are using it for.
Europe, especially Germany, tends to be more advanced and accepting of new procedures. Also, they don't have as strong of regulatory factors as we do here in the US. Studies in Germany have shown the success of PRP as has research at Stanford in 2006, where 20-25 patients had significantly positive results with PRP injections.
The addition of stem cells to PRP for arthritis is becoming more popular because it is the stem cells that are going to be activated by growth factors of the platelets and cause the production of cartilage.
Unlike Kobe Bryant, you don't have to go all the way to Germany. If you, or someone you love, have suffered a knee, foot or ankle injury, you need to see a foot doctor as soon as possible.
by: Dr Alireza Khosroabadi DPM
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