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Procedure researched at Pinehurst Surgical reportedly used on Hines Ward in Superbowl XLII.
Just prior to the kickoff of Superbowl XLIII, on field reporters from NBC credited Hines Ward's rapid recovery with a knee sprain to Platelet Rich Plasma therapy. According to NBC, Hines Ward had his blood drawn and later had the concentrated platelets injected back into his knee to accelerate healing.
Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) has been used in numerous professional collegiate, & recreational athletes to accelerate recovery from injury. I have seen firsthand that PRP enables athletes to shorten their recovery time without ill effects. While athletes have the luxury of round th clock trainers, this therapy is useful in the weekend warrior as well.
Southern Medical Journal publishes Research Study
Ward S. Oakley, Jr., MD, Orthopaedic surgeon at Pinehurst Surgical and Connie Tighe, APRN-BC research study entitled "The Prevalence of a Diabetic Condition and Adhesive Capsulitis of the Shoulder" was accepted for publication and published in the Southern Medical Journal, in June 2008. According to the Sandhills Multi-Institutional Review Board (SMIRB) this is one of only a few clinical research studies performed by a local physician that they have approved and came to publication.
This clinical research study was conducted at Pinehurst Surgical on 100 consecutive patients with adhesive capsulitis, a condition of the shoulder that causes significant stiffness and pain. Adhesive capsulitis occurs more frequently in women than men, and more commonly during their mid-forties to mid-sixties. There is no known cause for this condition. Its symptoms of pain and stiff are frequently seen with other common conditions of the shoulder such as arthritis and rotator cuff tear. In this clinical study patients who were not know to be diabetic were specifically tested for diabetes. The study results showed that the total prevalence (frequency) of a diabetic condition in patients with adhesive capsulitis was 71.5%. This finding was a significant change from the accepted belief that the frequency was only about 20%. This study was the first to specifically address the frequency of diabetes in patients with this shoulder condition by testing for both diabetes and pre-diabetes. Patients with pre-diabetes have a high likelihood of progressing to diabetes which would then require medical treatment, specifically the need for diabetic pills or insulin injections.
The good news for patients with this condition of adhesive capsulitis is that it is usually self limiting, getting better and resolving on its own over 6-12 months. Patients who have more pain and stiffness than they care to burden with frequently respond rapidly to a steroid injection and physical therapy. Only rarely do patients need to have surgical manipulation (breaking adhesions loose) or surgical arthroscopic debridement of the excessive scar tissue that can build up.