 | Most sports fans keep up with scores and the winning teams, but what many fail to look further into are injuries. Sports injuries are very common among all athletes. Recently, Patty Mills, a NBA player for the Spurs, tore his rotator cuff. The rotator cuff is located in the shoulder, and it helps keep the arm in the socket of the shoulder. It consists of four different muscles and their tendons. Its function is to both connect the humerus to the shoulder blade and to allow movement. Patty Mills tore his rotator cuff, so this prevented his tendons from fully attaching to his bone. This can cause a lot of pain, restricted arm movement, and weakness, among other things. As for most injuries, there are many different treatment options. Although Patty Mills chose to have surgery, a platelet rich plasma (PRP) injection would have been another option. For this injection, blood is initially draw from a patient. Next, platelets and growth factors are isolated from the blood sample and injected into the area of injury. This process helps increase and promote blood growth to the area of injection, and in response the healing is accelerated through a natural process. -- By Gurleen Sangha ~ An undergraduate student at Occidental College pursuing a Bachelors of Science in Kinesiology/Biology, and aspiring to be a physician. She is a very motivated volunteer at Dr. W.C. Lee's office. |
 | W.C. Lee, M.D., is a UCLA-trained board certified specialist in Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation. She is an expert in platelet rich plasma non-surgical treatments. She specializes in the non-surgical treatment of muscle, arthritis, and nerve injuries and conditions. She received her M.D. from University of Wisconsin Medical School. |
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