PRP Optimization: You Make Your Own Medicine

Samuel G Oltman, ND, RMSK

Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) is a healing product made from your own blood that partially reflects your current state of health. There are many modifiable factors that improve the quality and potency of your PRP. Ultimately, it boils down to the same basic factors that one would want to follow for healthy living in general. There is no secret to a healthy lifestyle– it consists of doing simple, mundane things with consistency and discipline.

PRP concentration is the most important variable and we make the best PRP possible. The below factors are ways to optimize your PRP above and beyond this, but perfection is not necessary. Do not allow perfection to be the enemy of good– any improvement along these axes will help your healing. 

WAYS TO OPTIMIZE YOUR PRP

Diet

A plant-heavy, pescatarian-leaning, Mediterranean diet is optimal. This reduces simple carbohydrates, sugar, and saturated fats, which is the best for platelet activation and healing. This should be the “all the time” goal for diet. 

For the day before until about a week after treatment, it’s best to avoid/reduce foods high in quercitin, which inhibits platelets: apples, onions, garlic, tea, and wine. Excess caffeine and alcohol also inhibit platelet activation.

General: Pescatarian-ish Mediterranean Diet.

Specific: Avoid alcohol, apples, garlic, onions, and excessive caffeine around your treatment.

Exercise

Exercise is the best medicine known to humankind. Regular, routine exercise (of any kind) provides a sure-fire way to improve your PRP quality. Regardless of exercise history (pain can make it difficult to exercise adequately) doing 20 minutes of vigorous exercise prior to your blood draw boots platelets and growth factors in your PRP.  

General: Move your body regularly and occasionally move it vigorously.

Specific: 10-20 minutes of vigorous exercise prior to blood draw.

Sleep

Sleep is crucial for recovery, pain, and inflammation. Part of the rest and recovery from each PRP treatment includes prioritizing sleep. If you have trouble sleeping in general, this is something to work on that will directly effect your pain. 

General: Get quality sleep through good sleep hygiene and addressing underlying factors.

Specific: Make time to rest/recover the night before and after treatment.

Drugs

NSAIDs like ibuprofen, Advil, aspirin, Aleve, naproxen, Celebrex, meloxicam, etc are all inhibitory to platelets. They can alleviate inflammatory pain, but will weaken the effect of your PRP. Avoid these for the 10 days prior to your treatment and in between treatments. When your pain is alleviated by the PRP, you won’t need to take them at all anymore. 

General: Take as little pain medication as possible.

Specific: Avoid NSAIDs for 10 days prior to treatment and at least 2 weeks following.

Bonus: Consider specific nutritional supplements to support healing.

Non-Factors

Your age does not effect your PRP quality.

The time of day that you get your blood drawn does not effect your PRP quality.

Overall, the healthier you are, the better your PRP will be. The way we make our PRP here at Cascade Regenerative Medicine is the most important factor. But above and beyond that, improving these modifiable factors will help you get the most out of your treatments. If you are not in “perfect” health, do not worry, your PRP is still effective. Ultimately, you are healing yourself and we want to optimize every step of that process when possible. You don’t need to be perfect, but everyone can be a little better. Schedule today and see the difference.

References:

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2. Hubbard GP, Wolffram S, Lovegrove JA, Gibbins JM. Ingestion of quercetin inhibits platelet aggregation and essential components of the collagen-stimulated platelet activation pathway in humans. J Thromb Haemost. 2004;2(12):2138-2145.

3. MacNeil LG, Tarnopolsky MA, Crane JD. Acute, exercise-induced alterations in cytokines and chemokines in the blood distinguish physically active and sedentary aging. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2021;76(5):811-818.

4. Anz AW, Parsa RS, Romero-Creel MF, et al. Exercise-mobilized platelet-rich plasma: short-term exercise increases stem cell and platelet concentrations in platelet-rich plasma. Arthroscopy. 2019;35(1):192-200.

5. Haack M, Sanchez E, Mullington JM. Elevated inflammatory markers in response to prolonged sleep restriction are associated with increased pain experience in healthy volunteers. Sleep. 2007;30(9):1145-1152.

6. Chennaoui M, Vanneau T, Trignol A, et al. How does sleep help recovery from exercise-induced muscle injuries? J Sci Med Sport. 2021;24(10):982-987.

7. Platzer H, Kubon KD, Diederichs S, et al. [Platelet-rich plasma (Prp) : Compositional analysis with different dietary habits and timing of blood sampling]. Orthopadie (Heidelb). 2023;52(11):907-915.