If you haven’t heard about Platelet Rich Plasma yet, then it’s time that you did. For years, Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) therapy has been an effective technique to get people to recover faster from injury. When celebrities need to recover quickly, they often turn to PRP for help. Learn which celebrities took advantage of PRP therapy to make rapid recoveries. Then, find out how you can use PRP to benefit yourself.

What is Platelet Rich Plasma Therapy?

PRP therapy is a technique that you can use to facilitate the recovery from an injury. When you experience an injury, blood flows to the injured area. This causes the swelling that usually accompanies an injury. That increased blood flow helps your body to repair itself. However, sometimes blood can’t get to the area of damage. There are obstacles that keep it from fixing your injury.

With Platelet Rich Plasma therapy, getting blood to the injury site is easy. First, a specialist takes a blood sample from you. After spinning it in a centrifuge, the specialist takes the plasma from the top of the sample. Then, the specialist injects it into your injury. This helps your body heal.

For years, PRP therapy has been around. In the 90’s, doctors used it to heal broken bones or treat spinal injuries. Sometimes, plastic surgeons would use it on individuals to promote quicker healing. However, the procedure only gained notoriety recently. Today, more and more medical professionals are realizing the benefits of Platelet Rich Plasma.

Who uses PRP therapy?

Many individuals use this type of therapy. However, there are several individuals worth noting. Here are a few celebrities who used PRP therapy to speed up their recoveries:

1. Angelina Jolie

In a procedure called a Dracula Facelift, Angelina Jolie received a shot of PRP into her face. The procedure boosts the collagen production at the injection site. As a result, it makes skin look younger and more elastic. With more collagen, Jolie’s face appeared more youthful.

2. Kim Kardashian

Like Angelina Jolie, Kim Kardashian used PRP to give her a younger look. In a procedure called a Vampire Facial, Kardashian had specks of blood covering her face. Those specks were Platelet Rich Plasma. By injecting her skin with it using a micro-needle, a specialist aimed to eliminate wrinkles and heal the skin. Even with the minimally invasive application, PRP has a healing ability.

3. Tiger Woods

Females aren’t the only ones using PRP. For example, consider Tiger Woods. When he blew out his knee in 2008, he needed a knee reconstruction. However, the procedure often results in knee pain and recurring problems. Woods had PRP injections before the Master’s tournament.  After he received several injections of PRP in his knee, he competed. In what appeared to be a miraculous recovery, he was then able to compete without pain.

Tiger did get into some trouble for the therapy. Although PRP therapy is legal, Woods’ doctor faced accusations of giving human growth hormone to patients. However, the doctor did not use human growth hormone on Woods. After a quick investigation, Wood was not found guilty of any performance enhancement.

4. Kobe Bryant

In basketball, the risk of knee injury is great.The famous Kobe Bryant was a victim of a knee injury. After years of stress on his knees, he developed trouble with his joints. His pain was so bad that he thought about retiring early. However, he opted instead to try PRP therapy. Bryant flew to Germany and received several rounds of PRP injections. Then,  Bryant was able to resume his career without knee troubles. PRP saved him from an early retirement.

5. Alex Rodriguez

When Alex Rodriguez underwent surgery in 2009, people had concerns about his return. They thought that the baseball all-star might not make it back on the field quickly. However, Rodriguez underwent PRP therapy. He made it back on the field much sooner than everyone else expected. Thanks to PRP, he got his career back quickly.

Using PRP in Dentistry

You now know that celebrities use Platelet Rich Plasma therapy for both cosmetic and medical purposes. However, there is another application for PRP therapy – dentistry. When a dentist uses PRP injections in a dental procedure, he can speed up the recovery process. Additionally, he can reduce your chances of infection.

There are several ways in which PRP can help you during and after a dental procedure. Here are a few of them:

  • Less pain during the procedure
  • A quicker recovery time
  • Better and faster healing
  • The regeneration of post-extraction sites
  • Better healing of dental implants
  • Regeneration of tooth extraction sites
  • Improved regrowth of areas where a dentist removed cysts
  • Regeneration of the bone from bony defects
  • Better growth of bone around your dental implants

If you need to undergo a dental procedure, then PRP injections might be able to help. Talk to your dentist about your options.