When the term biologic injection appears on the Twitter timeline next to J.J. McCarthy’s name, it’s easy to see why people would overreact. The former Michigan signal caller has never played a regular-season game in purple for the Minnesota Vikings, and we’re only days removed from Sam Darnold’s lackluster performance in the Vikings’ 12-7 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Add on that a biologic injection sounds like a serious treatment, especially following McCarthy’s meniscus surgery:
When I saw the biologic injection tweet, visions of Luke Skywalker in the medical lab on Hoth popped into my head. I envisioned Skywalker in the bacta tank surrounded by liquid, suspended in the mixture before the scene changed. The next time they show Skywalker, a robot is working on the reflexes in his new hand with a needle-like instrument.
Alas, this is what happens when I let my imagination run wild. However, the truth is far less exciting. It doesn’t involve mystery liquids or Star Wars. The procedure likely references a relatively common procedure known as a PrP (platelet-rich plasma) injection.
Below is a doctor giving the injection into a knee (needle warning):
There it is, simple as that.
So, what is a PrP injection?
As the name suggests, the injection is primarily plasma, the stuff in your blood that isn’t blood cells. Plasma also contains the proteins and nutrients from your blood and makes up roughly 55% of the volume of blood. So, for this plasma injection developed in the 1950s, a patient has their blood drawn, and the blood is centrifuged to separate the heavier red/white blood cells from the plasma.
Doctors inject the plasma in the same way that someone would donate plasma at a donation center. Other than the needle, the procedure is relatively painless and can be done in under an hour. Plasma donations are also always needed for research, so even if someone is not looking for a PrP injection, it is a valuable way to earn extra money and help develop medical treatments.
The process differs from donation because the blood cells that are centrifuged are not returned to the body. By comparison, platelets (thrombocytes) are the smallest of all the different-sized blood cells in the body. For context, the normal lab result for a healthy person is between 150,000 and 450,000 platelets per microliter. Therefore, by spinning it (the technical term), they can isolate enough platelet cells in a blood tube before combining it with the plasma and filtering out the other blood cells.
Platelets are targeted because they are immensely important in the body. They are commonly involved in blood clotting, healing, and creating new tissues. That’s why a PrP injection is so valuable for assisting healing in joints. As joints are made up of cartilage, a relatively low-blood-flow tissue, the injection of a PrP stimulates healing by providing proteins and platelets to the source.
Think of it as a battlefield. The body attempts to heal against an infection, surgery, or inflammation, and cartilage is like a desert. There aren’t as many rivers (blood flow) to deliver fresh supplies or troops. However, the PrP injection is like a helicopter bringing assistance via troops (platelets) and supplies (nutrients) to assist in the battle.
McCarthy got the injection to help with inflammation or swelling. That’s common when recovering from torn ligaments; the body floods the area with blood to help heal. However, the desert-like nature of cartilage does not allow for the reabsorption of the blood.
As a result, the blood sits in between tissues. Sometimes, doctors can prescribe draining the knee, which involves draining the fluid surgically. Otherwise, they can prescribe a PrP, which may seem counterintuitive. However, the increase in plasma and platelets can help kick start the reabsorption process and repair the tissue faster by stimulating cells to work faster with abundant nutrients. That causes the body to have less swelling after the injection disperses.
Modern medicine has turned to PrP injections much more frequently due to their success rate in treating everything from torn joints to arthritis and almost everything in between. That includes PrP injections being recommended as a treatment for balding in 2006.
The Vikings are hoping McCarthy will return next season. Therefore, it’s easy to see why the reports of another procedure could send the public into a frenzy. The biologic injection is significantly less serious than the name suggests. It’s likely referencing a platelet-rich plasma injection that has become all too common in modern medicine. That may signal that society is not too far off from having medical facilities on Hoth.
