Patient preparation guide
Preparing for your PRP treatment
Platelet-rich plasma works by concentrating your own healing cells and delivering them precisely where tissue has broken down. Two things determine how well that works: the quality of the platelets we draw from you, and whether your body is allowed to mount the healing response afterward. Both are largely in your hands in the weeks before treatment.
14 days before
Clear the medications that work against you
- Stop all NSAIDs. Ibuprofen, naproxen, meloxicam, celecoxib, indomethacin, ketorolac — and topical diclofenac gels and patches. These suppress the exact inflammatory cascade PRP is designed to trigger.
- Tylenol is permitted and is your alternative for pain during this window.
- Do not stop blood thinners or cardiac aspirin on your own. Keep taking them and call us — we will coordinate directly with your prescribing physician.
- Report recent steroids. Oral steroids within 4 weeks, or a cortisone injection near the site within 6 weeks. We may need to reschedule.
- Stop nicotine in all forms — cigarettes, vaping, pouches, patches, gum.
- Complete your pre-treatment labs. Elevated blood sugar and low vitamin D both degrade platelet function and tissue repair capacity.
If your numbers need correcting first, we would rather know before we treat you than after.
7 days before
Prepare the raw material
- Pause blood-thinning supplements. Fish oil and omega-3, vitamin E, turmeric and curcumin, ginkgo, concentrated garlic and ginger. Culinary amounts in food are fine; capsules are not.
- Increase your protein. Your body builds new tissue out of amino acids. Aim for protein at every meal through treatment and the following month.
- Confirm you have no active infection. Tell us about fever, dental infection or upcoming dental work, urinary or sinus infection, or any break, rash, or open skin over the treatment site.
48 hours before
Hydrate seriously
- Eight to ten glasses of water daily. Well-hydrated blood draws cleanly and yields a better platelet concentrate. Dehydration is the most common avoidable reason a draw goes poorly.
- No alcohol. It impairs platelet function and dehydrates you at the same time.
- No strenuous exercise involving the treatment area.
The day of treatment
Arrive ready
- Eat a normal meal before you arrive. Do not fast. An empty stomach is the most common cause of lightheadedness during the draw.
- Drink 16 to 20 oz of water in the two hours before your appointment.
- Wear loose, comfortable clothing that gives easy access to the treatment site.
- No lotion, oil, perfume, or self-tanner on or near the treatment area.
- Arrive 15 to 30 minutes early.
After your treatment
Soreness is the treatment working, not a complication
- Expect soreness, swelling, and stiffness for 2 to 7 days. This is the inflammatory healing cascade doing precisely what the treatment was designed to provoke. Patients who feel the least afterward are not the ones doing the best.
- No NSAIDs for at least 2 weeks. Acetaminophen is fine.
- Avoid ice unless we specifically tell you otherwise. Cold blunts the same signaling we just generated. Rest and gentle heat are preferred.
- Follow the activity restrictions given to you for your specific site. They are not generic advice.
Call us immediately if you experience
- Fever above 101°F
- Spreading redness, warmth, or drainage from the injection site
- Severe pain that is worsening rather than gradually improving after day three
- New numbness, weakness, or inability to bear weight
- Calf swelling or pain
Urgent · within 5 days of treatment
Dr. Padda direct line. For the concerns listed above, call at any hour.
This guide supports but does not replace the individualized instructions given to you by Dr. Padda. If anything here conflicts with what you were told in person, follow the in-person instruction and call the office to clarify.