Ankle pain can happen for various reasons, including an injury or stubborn osteoarthritis. No matter what's causing the pain, one thing's for sure — you need effective treatment to get back to your busy life.
While other treatments cover up the pain, platelet-rich plasma offers a unique opportunity to heal your ankle from the inside out. PRP is growing in popularity for its miraculous healing properties in various areas of the body.
If you're interested in regenerative medicine for ankle pain, Dr. Jeffrey E. McAlister and the team at Phoenix Foot and Ankle Institute provide PRP and stem cell therapy for various conditions.
Dr. McAlister is an esteemed foot and ankle specialist who provides each patient with a customized plan based on their individual needs.
Your ankle joints are vital parts of your body because they need to support your weight and movement throughout the day. Because of this, your ankles are prone to injury and degeneration, which leads to pain and disability.
Ankle pain can come on suddenly or result from chronic wear-and-tear that takes years to develop. A few of the common causes of ankle discomfort include the following:
The best way to get the proper treatment for ankle pain is to find out the root cause of the problem. Dr. McAlister evaluates your symptoms, performs a physical exam, and initiates imaging studies to determine what's causing your pain.
PRP is cutting-edge technology that doctors use to speed up healing and promote tissue regeneration in people with injuries or arthritis, but how does it work?
Your blood contains various components: plasma, red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets. The plasma is the liquid portion, while the other three are cells your body needs for various reasons.
Platelets are the cells that respond immediately to an injury in your body. They all clump together to form a clot if you’re bleeding, but they also carry essential growth proteins.
At the injury site, platelets harness their growth proteins, helping rebuild injured tissue over time. They clump together to reconstruct various tissue forms, including muscles, tendons, and ligaments.
One of the best aspects of PRP is that Dr. McAlister gets it from your own blood. It's a natural way to promote recovery in your ankle joint by using cells we harvest from the blood flowing through your body.
It's crucial to understand that PRP isn't a magical therapy that cures anything in the blink of an eye. However, it's an available treatment when other medicines haven't worked to remedy ankle pain.
Dr. McAlister evaluates your condition to determine if PRP is the best treatment for your needs. However, PRP is a versatile treatment, meaning he can use it for various problems within your ankle, including:
If you've recently had surgery on your ankle, Dr. McAlister can also use PRP during or after the procedure to stimulate tissue health and quicken your recovery.
It's vital to understand that PRP isn't a treatment that works immediately; instead, it takes time for the platelets and growth proteins to build new tissues, improve inflammation, and promote healing after an injury.
Dr. McAlister mixes a local anesthetic with the PRP injection to temporarily relieve pain as the platelets get into your ankle and start working. You may not feel the effects of the injection for several weeks while the platelets and growth proteins work together to decrease pain in your joint.
PRP is a great option to use alone or in conjunction with other treatments, providing long-term pain relief from acute or chronic ankle conditions.
To schedule an appointment for a PRP injection, call our team at 602-761-7819, or book an appointment with Dr. McAlister on the website.
