Each year, sports medicine becomes more innovative.
One development over the past decade is the platelet-rich plasma injection, which has
evolved into a top option for injured players. For the Red Sox,
two players — David Ortiz and ex-outfielder Carl Crawford — relied on the
treatment this season.
Ortiz received a shot about two weeks ago to alleviate
pain in his injured Achilles.
"They
take your blood, spin it, get the plasma out of it and put it down there,"
Ortiz said. "That helps you heal a little faster. The doctor said there's
a 60 to 70 percent chance of that to help. I had that done before, and I believe in
it big time."
Certain restrictions come with the shot. Players can't travel at high altitudes, which is why
Ortiz didn't join the Red Sox on their recent West Coast swing.
Players also need time to recover from the injection. Ortiz is still wearing a protective boot two weeks after the treatment.
"When they do that
PRP thing, they kind of dig in there," Ortiz said. "They're adding
something that wasn't there. That's got to go back in place and start the
healing process. Like everybody knows, that's now a two-week thing.
"So I'm
pretty sure that after they get the boot off, I'm going to start getting
treatment different than what I'm getting right now. It all depends now how
sensitive still I get to be down there. They think step by step."
The shot
isn't always guaranteed to work. Crawford got his PRP injection in April for pain in his troublesome elbow. But when Crawford returned to the Red Sox in July, he still felt
discomfort. By mid-August, he and the Red Sox decided he needed Tommy
John surgery.
"This whole PRP
thing, it's a whole process," Ortiz said. "It's not just doing it and
just wake up in a couple weeks and go out afterwards. It's how it's healing,
what's the next step going to be like, and just make sure that everything is on
the right [track]."
It's certainly
headed that way, but with only a handful of games remaining, Ortiz still may be
done for the season.
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) is offering 100 healthy tips to celebrate Fenway Park’s centennial. Visit 100pitches.org to learn more.
