Regenerative Medicine on: Sports Injuries

Recovering from serious sports injuries can take considerable time. Even minor injuries, such as a sprained ankle, may require weeks to heal, while injuries that involve surgery can take much longer. Over the past decade, extensive research has explored the role of regenerative medicine, particularly PRP therapy, in accelerating the healing of sports injuries.

PRP & PRF

Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) and Platelet-Rich Fibrin (PRF) have demonstrated great efficacy in the treatment of sports injuries. In orthopaedics, PRP is typically centrifuged for a longer period compared to traditional treatments, resulting in a higher concentration of platelets. This creates a smaller, yet more potent, injection for improved healing.

PRP is thought to accelerate healing in part due to the growth factors contained within, which supports the physiological healing processes. It also contains cytokines, which improves tissue repair in cartilage, tendons, ligaments, muscles and bones. (Bernuzzi) Further to this, the antimicrobial properties it has may contribute to the reduction of pain and the prevention of infections. All of this makes PRP a popular choice in rehabilitating sports injuries. 

Across numerous scientific publications, Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) has demonstrated positive results in treating conditions such as patellar tendinitis, Achilles tendinitis, tennis elbow, partial rotator cuff tears, ligament tears, and arthritis. Patel et al. explain that after a PRP injection, athletes typically undergo a brief rest period from sports, combined with rehabilitation, to optimise healing and ensure the best possible outcome.

Exosomes and Exomine

Exosome therapy is an emerging area that shows much promise in treating sports-related injuries, such as muscle strains, fracture healing, and cartilage repair. Exosomes are responsible for intercellular communication, and are involved in the transportation of growth factors, cytokines and microRNAs. This supports processes such as modulating the functional status of immune cells, the suppression of inflammatory responses and the restructuring of the extracellular matrix. Therefore, depending on the type of exosome, this can be utilised to support various sorts of healing. 

Further research on Platelet Rich Plasma Derived Exosomes has shed light on the great therapeutic capability this treatment may have in Sports Medicine. Lyer et al's 2020 study found that PRP derived exosomes significantly accelerated muscle recovery in patients who had suffered injuries, showing a similar healing level to those injected with mesenchymal stem cells. Considering the ease at which exosome-rich plasma can be harvested, this displays the vast potential this treatment has in transforming sports rehabilitation in the future. Exomine, T-Lab's innovative platelet-derived exosome system, delivers 20-25 billion exosomes per treatment, compared to synthetic alternatives, which typically offer only 5 billion. This system is Hawksley's fastest-growing product, as its therapeutic benefits are increasingly recognised by practitioners across the UK.

Dermomine

Autologous micrografting involves taking a small skin graft and using the tissue to stimulate the growth and formation of healthy cells in the dermis to aid healing. When collecting a tissue sample for micrografting, two key components are dermal fibroblasts and mesenchymal stem cells. The former are essential for the structural integrity and repair of the skin, while the latter play a crucial role in skin regeneration by transforming into various cell types to replace damaged ones. Although research is still in its early stages, several notable studies have demonstrated the efficacy of micrografting in various orthopaedic treatments, a positive indicator for this technology to become standard practice in the future.

References

Prasad Patil, Mamtha Jadhav, Tarun Kumar Suvvari, Vimal Thomas, Therapeutic uses of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) in sport injuries – A narrative review, Journal of Orthopaedic Reports, Volume 3, Issue 2, 2024, 100287, ISSN 2773-157X

Bernuzzi G, Petraglia F, Pedrini MF, De Filippo M, Pogliacomi F, Verdano MA, Costantino C. Use of platelet-rich plasma in the care of sports injuries: our experience with ultrasound-guided injection. Blood Transfus. 2014 Jan;12 Suppl 1(Suppl 1):s229-34. doi: 10.2450/2013.0293-12. Epub 2013 Jul 3. PMID: 23867186; PMCID: PMC3934291.

Huang H, Chen P, Feng X, Qian Y, Peng Z, Zhang T, Wang Q. Translational studies of exosomes in sports medicine - a mini-review. Front Immunol. 2024 Jan 8;14:1339669. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1339669. PMID: 38259444; PMCID: PMC10800726.

Tsoukas D, Muntean I, Simos C, Sabido-Vera R. Prospective Observational Study of a Non-Arthroscopic Autologous Cartilage Micrografting Technology for Knee Osteoarthritis. Bioengineering (Basel). 2023 Nov 8;10(11):1294. doi: 10.3390/bioengineering10111294. PMID: 38002418; PMCID: PMC10669557.

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