PRP Therapy for a Pulled Muscle: What to Expect

One of the most common soft tissue injuries you can incur is a muscle strain, often called a pulled muscle. You can pull a muscle in one swift movement (acute strain) or through cycles of repetitive use and insufficient rest (chronic strain). 

Your muscles are made up of tiny fibers that are woven together. Pulling a muscle means the fiber strands have stretched beyond their limits and broken. The amount of tearing that occurs determines the severity of the strain. A minor strain occurs when only a few fibers tear, but a severe strain happens when the muscle tears all the way through.

Pull muscles can often heal with proper at-home care and rest. However, the strain is sometimes more severe and requires some professional medical intervention to encourage optimal healing and restore muscle function.  

At Genesis Pain and Regenerative Medicine in Colleyville, Texas, pain management physician Don Enty, MD, leads our team in treating orthopedic injuries such as pulled muscles. This month’s blog highlights an effective treatment for pulled muscles known as platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy.

What is PRP therapy?

Platelets are the smallest cells in your blood and your body’s superhero healers, containing high amounts of proteins that can regenerate cells and tissues rapidly. When you get wounded or injured, your body sends signals to start the healing process, and your platelets hurry to the injury site and jump into action. 

However, sometimes, an injured site doesn’t get enough blood flow, so insufficient healing platelets can reach the damage and repair it quickly or effectively. That’s exactly what PRP therapy seeks to address.

Your blood contains liquid plasma and solid cells — red, white, and platelets. Red blood cells transport oxygen, white blood cells fight off infection, and platelets clot blood and heal injuries. 

PRP is simply blood with a much higher concentration of platelets, about three to five times more than what naturally circulates in your body. It’s made by taking a sample of your blood and separating the plasma and platelets from the red blood cells. Then, the PRP is injected into the injury site to introduce a high platelet count and encourage better healing.

PRP therapy for pulled muscles

When you pull a muscle, the first lines of treatment include:

• Using the RICE method (rest, ice, elevation, and compression) 
• Taking over-the-counter nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs for pain and swelling
• Undergoing physical therapy to rehabilitate the affected muscle

However, if your tear is moderate and/or your body doesn’t respond fully to these initial treatment methods, PRP injections are a viable solution. They can deliver healing properties to your damaged muscle and provide a faster and more effective healing process. 

A huge benefit to PRP therapy is that it’s completely natural since it’s made from your own body’s substances, which eliminates the risks of rejection and disease transmission. Most people who received PRP injections for injury treatment reported pain improvements within 4-6 weeks, lasting well over a year. 

Heal your pulled muscle with PRP therapy 

If you haven’t seen any noticeable improvements in your pulled muscle after treating it for a week or two at home, seek expert care with our Genesis Pain and Regenerative Medicine team. We can see if PRP therapy could be a good option for you and also discuss additional treatments that may be beneficial. 

Schedule an appointment by calling our office or using our online booking feature today.