Bleeding is often a sign of injury. But in some cases, a person's own blood can be used to recover from those injuries.

Take tennis elbow as an example. Actually called lateral epicondylitis, the condition is an inflammation of the upper arm tendon cause by repeated motion.

A relatively new treatment allows surgeons to use someone's blood as a way to help the tendon heal. The treatment isolates the blood platelets and harnesses their healing potential, offering in some cases an alternative to long-term medication or getting cut open.

One local orthopedic surgeon is already using the platelet treatment for tendon injuries like tennis elbow. Marc Pietropaoli, of Victory Sports Medicine in Skaneateles, said using platelets helps to “jump start” the healing process.

“It doesn't work on everybody, but it is a much better solution (than surgery). It's much less invasive,” Pietropaoli said.

Platelets are the substance in blood that cause a cut to clot or tissue to heal. The procedure works as follows: Blood is drawn from the patient, and then a machine is used to spin the vial to separate the platelets. Using the platelets in a similar way as a cortisone shot, the doctor numbs the area and injects the substance into the tendon area, jabbing the affected area a number of times.

Pietropaoli said there is usually some more pain early on, but after a few weeks, the patient will feel improvement if it worked.

“I think we've known for a long time that our own blood has growth factors in it,” he said.

Though named after athletic activities (tennis elbow, golfer's knee), tendon conditions affect many people who don't play sports. Often times, Pietropaoli said, it is caused by a profession that forces you to repeatedly carry out the same motion.

In those cases, invasive surgery and the recovery that follows are tough options.

Pietropaoli said this procedure has only been approved in the United States in the past couple years. And until recently, the equipment used for the treatment was not cost effective.

Eventually, he foresees researchers finding a way to cheaply synthesize platelets so a patient's blood is not even needed.

“Until then, this is a much more cost-effective solution,” Pietropaoli said.

Staff writer Christopher Caskey can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 282 or christopher.caskey@lee.net

On the Web

To watch a video of Dr. Marc Pietropaoli treating tennis elbow with a blood platelet injection, visit www.auburnpub.com/local_videos.