In the last 6 months I’ve had both Hyaluronic Acid and Cortisone shots to the bum knee, neither with very satisfying results. So I’m moving out of the realm of National Health Coverage and went ahead and got myself a Platelet Rich Plasma shot yesterday. Although this is not covered by the ‘Secu’ here in France, it seems to be fairly mainstream. My doctor has been giving these shots for 10 years and all his Wednesdays are devoted to them. I know a few people who’ve had good results from them, too, so I’m nearly optimistic.
The stuff you see above is the PRP, or maybe an AI generated image of it. PRP is your blood, or at least part of your blood, so the shots are considered safe. Here’s the procedure:
- The doctor takes 600ml of blood
- Runs it through a centrifuge for 10 minutes or so
- Something like this emerges…
Apart from the spelling, the imagine on the left more or less shows what I saw yesterday. You have blood at the bottom and “your blood’s water” (as my doctor explained it) at the top. He then skimmed the plasma off the top and took the middle part (about 10% of the total blood taken) to then inject it into my knee. All done at the office and well within an hour.
Today my knee is fairly stiff, which I am hoping is a good sign. According to my new friend Chatgpt, it is, since “PRP triggers an inflammatory response, which is part of the healing process.”
I’m frustrated that there always seems to be ‘something’ with this knee, but thankful that there’s always something new for me to try out. I might just make it to retirement without totally blowing this thing apart.
The Vicious Cycle 
wow—that’s quite something, Gerry. I hope it works! Does th
Hi Jan, and thanks! Did you mean to ask a question there at the end?
Gerry, I’ve been wondering about that devilish knee. I hope this does “stick”. Please keep us informed. It’s so unfortunate that you’re aging when, conveniently, I am not.
I was meaning to mention the fact that you never change. I did note that PRP shots are used for wrinkles, too. Maybe you are holding something back from me…?
If so, only unintentionally, I’m crossing my fingers on this for you! It sounds like at least one other member of the Gerry Fan Club has had positive results! I’m hopeful on your behalf!
Gerry,
I’m here to sing the praises of PRP. I had the procedure in 2021, and it is by far the best $700 I’ve ever spent to further my outdoor activities. I suffered from several episodes of painful-locked-knee episodes after a particularly long alpine descent. The sports doctor was optimistic after reviewing imaging and suggested that there was frayed tissue on the patella and that PRP might solve the issue. But, he also said there were no guarantees. I was frustrated after the procedure by his reticence to get me into PT – almost 2 months wait. I lost a lot of conditioning but in hindsight it was worth it. I’m now 74 and have resumed all my previous activities whole-heartedly: running, alpine climbing and of course cycling with absolutely no issues!
Terry
That’s kind of incredible, Terry! I’ll try and keep my optimism in check, though, just in case. The doc says that sometimes it’s necessary to redo it and maybe even do these shots in conjunction with others. I’ll do anything, pretty much…I need to keep this carnival running for as long as possible!
I really hope it works. Unreliable knees are no fun at all.
Thanks, I hope so too.
As I posted about 9 months ago I also had PRP. I have to agree with poster “scraptee”, it’s been great for me, especially in my knee. But also in the two other locations I had the shots.
I’m hoping you have the same good results.
Oh, I don’t recall that one at all, probably because PRP was not on the radar at that time. If that was a detailed comment could you post it again? I went back to search, but couldn’t find it.
How long was the recovery for you? The knee is still kind of tender after nearly 3 weeks.
The post made was made November 1 2024, in Cortisone: Make it a Double. I was several months post recovery at that time.
I noticed good function after about a month, with little if any tenderness after the first week. My doctor said that was atypical, but that some patients are “super-responders” to PRP, and apparently I might fall into that class.
Thanks. I was looking back too far for it. I’m 3 weeks in and the knee is still pretty tender. I’m trying to take this as a good sign.