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Basically, sport is healthy. But especially in the hobby sector, injuries sometimes occur due to overloading. If these turn out to be chronic, they can make life hell for those affected. The ordeal often leads through different therapies, which, however, have little effect. More and more sports physicians are therefore recommending what is known as ACP therapy. But what exactly is it and what are the areas of application for it?
What is ACP therapy?
ACP is an abbreviation for “Autologous Conditioned Plasma”. In this context, autolog means something like “endogenous”.
In ACP therapy, the body’s own active ingredients are used to counteract the pain. It has now been proven that blood platelets play an important role in tissue healing because they can release growth factors at the site of the injury.
During the treatment, blood is taken from the patient’s arm vein and then processed in a special centrifuge. The blood plasma enriched with the active ingredients settles out. This is then injected directly into the affected region.
The treatment usually lasts regarding 15 to 30 minutes. Immediately followingwards, the patients can go regarding their daily activities once more. Experts recommend a total of regarding three to five treatments at intervals of one week.
For which injuries is ACP therapy useful?
ACP therapy should be used primarily for chronic injuries to ligaments, tendons or muscles. Typical injuries include:
- Runner’s Knee/Jumper’s Knee
- Tennis arm
- heel spur
- Muscle fiber tear
- meniscus damage
- ligament injuries
ACP therapy can help not only with sports injuries, but also with back pain and age-related arthrosis. However, for the treatment to take effect, the patient’s cooperation is always required. Useful accompanying measures are, for example, physiotherapy and reducing your own body weight.
The best protection for amateur athletes is the assessment of their own performance. Therefore, in the case of sports injuries, they should above all adhere to the LUCKY rule. The P stands for pause and means to stop exercising immediately. The E stands for ice, which is supposed to cool the injured area in the body. The C stands for compression, i.e. a pressure bandage with moderate tension and the H indicates that the injured area should be elevated.
