If you’re a fan of Dancing with the Stars then you must have been in awe when you found out about what happened to William Sanford during his time on the show. For those of you who may not know who he is, I’ll give you a hint. He just so happened to be the host of a very popular science show back in the 90s. I’m sure many of you may have watched it for educational purposes. You must know that I am talking about Bill Nye the Science guy and wondering why I am bringing him up! Well, he just so happened to have torn his quadriceps tendon while he was performing and came back to the show the next week and danced again!
Mr. Nye has reported that he had undergone an innovative regenerative treatment regarding his injury, known as platelet rich plasma therapy. Believe it or not, but Mr. Nye actually returned to the show the following week with a descriptive yet simple explanation of his treatment, after he danced to Daft Punks “Get Lucky” with a little bit of jazz. It’s the type of explanation, which only he could deliver, like he had done so on his show so many times before. According to Mr. Nye, “platelet-rich plasma, which is where they take platelets from your blood in your arm, and poke them into the tendon and to-be-repaired area. It excites the cells in the right way to bring ‘em around faster than they would otherwise.”
PRP therapy can also be used to treat cartilage and ligament injuries, in addition to injuries of the tendon like Mr. Sanford had sustained. Also, recent studies associated with PRP therapy have shown its potential to help individuals suffering from osteoarthritis as well! Mr. Nye does a great job explaining the procedure of how PRP therapy works, however he left out one important detail. This procedure is also performed under ultrasound-guidance, enabling the physician to accurately administer the treatment to the site of injury. With the use of this diagnostic tool the doctor can see inside of the limb to assure that the platelet rich plasma is accurately being placed at the site of the injury.
For more information about Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) contact Dr. Benjamin Bieber of Cross Bay Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, in Howard Beach, New York.