Thanks to the warm season and the easing of anti-Covid measures, Italians are restarting with physical activity. For these 22 million people, though, injuries – muscle strains, partial tendon, meniscus or osteoarticular injuries – can be just around the corner. Sporting season over? It is not certain: a therapy with platelet-rich plasma (PRP) suitably combined with radiofrequency can allow a faster recovery for small injuries. An important technological innovation, which also finds application in other fields, and which will be among the central themes of the national conference ‘Regenerative Medicine Today’, organized by SIMCRI – Italian Society of Multi-specialty Regenerative Medicine and Surgery, in Taranto.
For a quick return to the track
“Platelet-rich plasma is a local and practically painless treatment, often used for recovery from injuries affecting muscles, bones, ligaments and joints”, explains Eugenio Caradonna, president of SIMCRI. “The growth factors released by the PRP facilitate the settlement of circulating stem cells in the injury site, which then act to promote tissue damage repair by interacting with resident stem cells”. The recovery, then, proved to be even faster and more complete if the platelet-rich plasma is accompanied, in the correct time and manner, by radiofrequency. “The treatment is simple,” says Antonio San Martino, of the Carlo Fiorino Hospital in Taranto. “A blood sample is taken, then centrifuged to extract the platelet-rich plasma, to be injected into the lesion area. The radiofrequency, carried out immediately with a specific modality, facilitates its activation and enhances the effect “. Simple yes, but it is still a medical treatment. For this reason, as Domenico Speciale, of the Carlo Fiorino Hospital in Taranto, underlines, to carry out it it is essential to contact sports doctors or regenerative medicine centers authorized by the reference transfusion service and recognized by SIMCRI, which guarantees quality characteristics and compliance with protocols. therapeutic. “The treatment is also recommended to facilitate the rehabilitation process after surgery, when indicated by the physiatrist or sports doctor”, adds Caradonna. “In this context, the research carried out at the Center for Nanophotonics and Optoelectronics for Human Health in Benevento, directed by Andrea Cusano, is of particular importance”.
Not just sports
Platelet Rich Plasma is also used for the resolution of diseases such as plantar fasciitis, osteoarthritis and chronic ulcers, such as those from diabetes – problems that are growing rapidly, due to the general aging of the population. “In particular – explains Bruno Amato, of the Federico II University of Naples – open wounds are a real epidemiological emergency on which it is necessary to intervene to develop increasingly effective treatments: PRP combined with radiofrequency is one of these”.
Anti-aging effects
Another field of application of the PRP is the medical-aesthetic one. According to Giuseppe Scarlino of the Mediterranean Medical Center in Taranto, platelets represent a great help for cell renewal and allow to intervene both on imperfections such as wrinkles and premature aging, but also on more impacting pathologies, such as aerated and androgenetic alopecia.
A help against pain
Finally, the PRP can also help to combat pain – “a real epidemiological emergency that affects 21% of the population”, concludes Vito Petruzzelli, of the Miulli Regional Hospital. The technologies used are provided by Medical Service of Taranto, in the centers of excellence of the peninsula. “Technological innovation, research and the creation of teams between doctors and technicians is central to the philosophy of the Medical Service”, remembers Saverio Graziano, Sole Director of the Company.