What’s the difference between PRP therapy and stem cell therapy?

22 Sep What’s the difference between PRP therapy and stem cell therapy?

In the world of regenerative medicine, both platelet rich plasma therapy and stem cell therapy are now mainstream.
They are both effective and widely used for both degenerative arthritis and soft tissue injuries to tendons and ligaments. However, there is a distinctive difference between them.

PRP therapy involves utilizing a patient’s own blood from a simple blood draw in the office. The blood is then placed into a centrifuge and spun rapidly for about 15 minutes. The result is a concentrate that includes about seven different growth factors along with a lot of platelets.

In actuality, it does not have many stem cells at all in the final result. It is then injected into the problem area such as the knee, shoulder or hip. Once injected, it does call in the body’s own stem cells for repair, but there’s not a large amount in the PRP itself.

When looking at stem cell therapy, that is the major difference. Bone marrow or adipose derived stem cell treatments contain a large amount of stem cells, along with amniotic derived stem cells as well.

Not only do these materials contain a large amount of stem cells, there are also a considerable amount of growth factors as well. What this does is elevate the healing potential along with doing a lot of the same things that PRP therapy has as well.
Because the stem cell material is more difficult to obtain, there is a significant cost differential in the procedures. While PRP therapy runs between 500 and $1100, stem cell therapy is between $2500 and $5000.

Results with both PRP therapy and stem cell therapy have been exceptional to date in small studies. This includes treatment for degenerative arthritis, rotator cuff tendinitis, if arthritis, spinal arthritis and degenerative disc disease.
There are quite a few physicians who actually administer both treatments together for adjunct of results.

R3 Stem Cell is the nation’s leading clinics for stem cell therapy, call us today to find a center close to you!