Understanding Dwight Howard’s PRP Treatment And Why It’s Not “The Kobe Treatment”

• Post By: Jeff Stotts
• Date: November 23, 2014
• Category: NBA, Understanding...

Houston center Dwight Howard recently underwent a procedure that is becoming commonplace in the NBA. Howard received a platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injection into his strained right knee in hopes of accelerating the healing process.

In the traditional PRP treatment, like the one Howard reportedly received, a sample of the injured athlete’s blood is taken and broken down in a machine known as a centrifuge. A protein-concentrated mixture is removed from the sample and injected into the injury site. The PRP mixture is filled with platelets, the primary component of blood responsible for clotting. Increasing the platelet count speeds up the body’s natural healing response and allows it to work more efficiently.

PRP injections are often compared to another type of treatment known as Orthokine or Regenokine. Orthokine, made famous by Lakers guard Kobe Bryant and his multiple trips to Germany, uses similar principles to PRP injections but utilizes a different component of the athlete’s blood. Instead of utilizing platelets, specific anti-inflammatory proteins are extracted and a personalized anti-inflammatory drug is created for the individual. However, the FDA has yet to approve Orthokine for use in the United States due to how the blood specimen is prepared.

While each treatment is designed to speed up the healing process, time is still necessary for a complete recovery. The majority of players who have opted for Orthokine have done so in the offseason with Xavier Henry’s preseason trip to Germany one of the only exceptions. However numerous examples of in-season PRP injections exist with the average number of missed games just above 11 games. It should be noted that the length of time missed is also dependent on the injury itself so determining just how long Howard will be sidelined remains difficult. On the plus side, Portland forward Nicolas Batum recently underwent two rounds of PRP injections for a right knee contusion and was able to return after sitting out just three games.

Houston hopes to have their big man back in the middle soon but have not set a definitive timetable on his return. To minimize the time lost, the team elected to utilize a non-operative PRP treatment that has been mislabeled as “the Kobe treatment.” PRP remains a proactive option but a return to play still depends on why it was needed in the first place. For an injury reported as a minor strain, the Rockets are optimistic this will be sooner rather than later.