bump, just in case someone has some answers. Thanks!

I had PRP in both feet because the fascia in both feet was torn. The PRP helped the tears heal. Do you have an actual diagnosis for what is wrong with your shin? Right now it sounds like just throwing something at the wall to see if something sticks, especially since cortisone and PRP are complete opposite treatments. Cortisone is for reducing inflammation and PRP creates inflammation. PRP is an expensive procedure (and painful) that usually is not covered by insurance and I haven't seen any research on PRP for shin pain - that doesn't mean there isn't any but I haven't seen it. If it were me I would want a clear diagnosis and educated understanding for why the doctor is recommending PRP. If there is some type of tear then it might be helpful. I can share my experience but I'm not sure how helpful it will be since the pain level, recovery, and timeframe for returning to running seems to vary greatly depending on the injury and where the injection is done. A friend of mine was running 2 weeks after PRP in her hamstring, I was running 6 weeks post-PRP in my feet. However, another friend of mine was in a boot for almost 6 weeks after PRP in his foot, and his doctor did one foot at a time so he was out for about 12 weeks total - so it even varies by doctor.

Thanks for your input on the time off post injection.
And yes, me getting the PRP injection is a bit of a last resort effort from all the things I've been trying. The current thinking of my issue is that I might have a slight tear right at the junction of muscle to bone. There's a very specific pain spot when probing. Dr did say she'd have ultrasound to use to find the right spot. I should probably just get someone to see if they can find a tear via ultrasound [early on MRI showed nothing] and then decide. Right now, I'm back to the 'wait a bit longer' phase. I've found running on the treadmill (versus the dirt I've been running on) has helped some. (Plus more time off)

Well, I can say that the PRP helped heal the tears in my plantar fascia. My doctor said he's seen a very high success rate with PRP for muscle, tendon, and fascia tears - less success with joint injuries. I was back on the bike after and pool running after 4-5 days. I wasn't able to swim until a about 10 days after because it hurt to push off the wall. I started running on the Alter-G treadmill around 2.5 weeks and started back running on the soft trail/treadmill/track in 6 weeks and the road around 8 weeks. I started back running mid-June and was able to race IM Chattanooga last month in a PR time ... so I'd say it was successful for me. I've also been doing a lot of PT to correct some muscle imbalances so my feet issues won't reoccur. If you have a tear it might definitely help. The injections themselves weren't painful since I had a nerve block and lidocaine injections, but I literally could not walk for 2-3 days after since I had both feet done and it was very painful to put any pressure on my feet. But after the initial 3 days I could walk slowly and the pain eased up a bit each day. Good luck!

Bumping this thread....did you ever end up getting PRP for your shin splints? Keen to hear if you did and if so the results, if not, anything else work?

Wow. A blast from the past re-reading this thread.

I did not end up trying PRP. I did a lot of running on the treadmill and then progressed to running on dirt. And was able to make 'some' progress. But eventually I found a new PT that had an extensive data collection system for running gait analysis and that made all the difference. We worked on me sitting back while running, keeping my knee bend at certain angles, having shorter strides, higher cadence. And it worked. It wasn't immediate - I was doing weekly gait training on his treadmill for about 4-5months. But my shin pain went away and I was able to ramp up mileage to half marathon and this past year even did marathon distances.

Wondering if you'd be willing to share why you chose to not take the PRP route? Did you find that new PT in parallel to your PRP research? Thanks in advance.

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KJ
Swim and Triathlon Coach
AllTerrainEndurance.com
KJ@allterrainendurance.com

I chose not to do the PRP mainly because I didn't feel confident it was worth it. Esp since I really didn't know what my problem was. Too many unanswered questions.

The PT I found was separate from my PRP research. I started looking for running gait analysis clinics. Thankfully he happened to have just opened up his own practice within a mile of me.

Those sessions have still been a useful tool to this day. If my shins ever start hurting.. I know I'm reverting back to my previous running gait and I know immediately how to correct.

Hope this helps.

Yes, very helpful, thank you!

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KJ
Swim and Triathlon Coach
AllTerrainEndurance.com
KJ@allterrainendurance.com

PRP for shin splints lol... What's next, prp for teeth whitening?

Not for tooth whitening, but certainly for healing after tooth extractions.
edit - It isn't an injection though. You use a "clot" of it in the site. It looks a whole lot like snot.