I got into Triathlon about 22 years ago when I was serving as a US Air Force Police Officer at Holloman AFB in southern New Mexico. I had been on a combat skills team where it was my job for a period of time to focus on being an athlete and shooting skills for eight hours a day. The competition was extreme and I loved it. It was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life, and it led me to desire sports that were extreme in nature. I actually get a little rush packing my Tri bag the night for a race, the same way I did when I was in the military preparing my bags for deployment. I’m sure many of you can relate in some way. I had also been exposed to, and had success in, track and cross country in high school but nothing like my time on the Warrior team. My dad, whom a lot on RTB members know, has been a lifelong athlete, and I have watched many of his races since I was a little kid. He has been a major influence on me and to this day is one of the fastest age group Triathletes at the Ironman distance in the world.

Contributed by Center for Diagnostic Imaging  

As an athlete, you’re accustomed to pushing your body to new limits. But from weekend warriors to professional athletes alike, anyone can experience pain from the wear and tear repetitive activity takes on the body. As we move quickly toward Spring and Summer events and competitions, know your options to keeping your body moving pain free.

Over the past decade, a therapeutic injection procedure known as Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) Injections has gone from a treatment for professional athletes to being accessible to anyone with tendon or ligament issues. The procedure can lead to a more rapid and thorough restoration of injured tissue to a healthy state by stimulating the body’s natural healing response.

This plasma is rich in platelets that secrete healing growth factors to trigger the body’s healing response. As a result, new tissue begins to develop. As this tissue matures, it causes tightening and strengthening of the tendons, ligaments and muscle of the injury site.

Fostering Rapid Healing and Tissue Regeneration

PRP can be effective throughout the musculoskeletal system, including shoulders, elbows, wrists, hands, hip/pelvis, knees, ankles and feet. In special circumstances, PRP can be used to improve fracture healing, but it is primarily used for tendonitis, acute and chronic muscle strains and tears, and ligament sprains. Athletic patients in particular are often referred for a PRP injection to address conditions within the hamstrings.

Research and clinical data show that PRP injections are extremely safe, with minimal risk for any adverse reaction or complication. There is a small risk of infection from any injection into the body, but this is rare.

Why it’s Cool

You’re not injecting a foreign substance into your body to mask the pain. Because PRP is produced from your own blood, there is no concern for rejection or disease transmission and it maximizes the body’s ability to heal itself. What’s more, most patients benefit from a single injection.

Center for Diagnostic Imaging (CDI) offer PRP injections out of outpatient imaging centers in Federal Way, Lakewood and Seattle. If you have questions about the procedure, call CDI at (855) 643-7226.

This article was submitted by Center for Diagnostic Imaging. Learn more about CDI, their seven outpatient medical imaging centers throughout the Puget Sound, and their specialized clinical teams and services, including PRP Injections at www.myCDI.com/WA.