Did I just hear that Hines Ward underwent autologous blood doping to heal from injury?!?!?!?
That’s what I heard - blood doping!
Yes, he centrifuged his blood and then injected it into his knees. But it is the NFL, where everyone dopes.
It is not blood doping. I do a similar procedure (usually during surgery though) to help heel bone fusions/fractures/etc. Not sure how successful it would be in a very short term for whatever is wrong with Hine’s knee, but it makes good press.
You can google Platelet Rich Plasma (i.e. DePuy’s Syphony system) for more info as you watch …
This is NOT blood doping, folks. It is a legit medical procedure that is being investigated for use in a variety of conditions (dental, medical, wound healing, to name just a few). Stanford University orthopaedic surgeon Allan Mishra, MD, is one of the US pioneers for use of PRP; he published the FIRST scientific study of use of PRP in treating chronic tendonosis (“tennis elbow”) in 2006 in The American Journal of Sports Medicine. Dr. Mishra and other researchers around the world continue to research its use and effectiveness for orthopaedic conditions. Basically, a small amount of blood is withdrawn from the patient, that blood is spun down into its component parts using a centrifuge to separate out the platelets, then this platelet-rich portion is re-injected into the affected area. This high concentration of platelets has special biochemic healing properties. It’s pretty clear from what NBC’s Andrea Kramer reported on the sidelines right before kick-off that this is the procedure Ward had done to “speed up” the natural healing of his torn MCL. For more information on PRP research, uses, etc. see Dr. Mishra’s Web site, www.bloodcure.com.
EPO is legit for its intended purpose, too.
The first thing that crossed my mind when I heard this is that now athletes can justify samples of their own blood on ice. “Hey, I was just saving this to get spun down for my (insert injury here).”
if nfl tested like uci we wouldn’t have anything to watch
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if nfl tested like uci we wouldn’t have anything to watch
sure you would, they would just be smaller and slower
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Entirely different animal (eythropoeitin vs. PRP). An athlete undergoing PRP injection is probably already out of competition anyway since he is injured. There is NO performance benefit.
well, he wasn’t the best ad for the procedure - pretty much a non-factor in the game, it seemed to me. at least compared to how we he played in the SB 3 years ago.
One of the top US runners had this and mentioned it in a blog, I think Tegencamp (sp). Started a shitstorm on Letsrun. I think WADA’s take is that they aren’t sure about its legality.
Styrrell
yeah over on LetsRun there’s a giant thread going on (500+ replies) over Matt Tegenkamp (2 mile AR holder) doing PRP. doesn’t sound like doping to me.
Based on your post and screen name it looks like you may pay attention to what the latest joint thewrapy treatments are. Have you heard anything about mesenchymal (sp?) stem cell injections sucessfully stimulating cartilage growth in the knee? Dr. in Denver has a place ‘Regenexx’ claiming successes that sound too good to be true (not to mention it looks like the FDA may not approve of his proceedure.) Is this technology coming? Worth getting hopes up about?