Regenerative Treatments for the Shoulder
What Are They?
PRP & BMAC for Shoulder Conditions
PRP and BMAC are treatments that use components taken from your own body to support the body's natural healing response.
Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is made by drawing a small amount of your blood, processing it to concentrate the platelets, and injecting that preparation into the area being treated. Platelets contain growth factors and other signaling proteins that may help support the body's response to injured or irritated tissue.
Bone marrow aspirate concentrate (BMAC) is obtained from your own bone marrow and concentrated before being used as part of treatment. BMAC contains a mixture of cells, signaling factors, and other components of bone marrow that may support the body's repair response.
Neither treatment is a guaranteed way to regrow damaged tissue or eliminate the need for surgery. The goal is to select the treatment that makes sense for the specific problem you're dealing with.
What To Expect
How Regenerative Treatment May Help
Regenerative treatments are most useful when there is still tissue that has the potential to respond to treatment. They may be considered for conditions such as:
- Rotator cuff tendinopathy or selected partial-thickness tears
- Certain tendon injuries around the shoulder
- Early or moderate degenerative changes
- Selected cartilage or joint problems
- Persistent symptoms that have not fully responded to physical therapy or other nonsurgical care
The appropriate treatment depends on what is causing your pain, how much tissue damage is present, and whether the goal is to treat a tendon, joint, or other structure.
Improvement is generally gradual rather than immediate. Your response depends on the underlying condition, the severity of the damage, and how your shoulder responds to treatment and rehabilitation.
PRP or BMAC?
Which Treatment Is Right for Me?
PRP may be considered when:
- You have a tendon problem or selected partial rotator cuff tear
- You want to try a nonsurgical treatment
- Physical therapy has helped but has not completely resolved your symptoms
- Your condition is appropriate for a biologic injection
BMAC may be considered when:
- You have a more significant degenerative or tissue-related problem
- Other nonsurgical treatments have not provided sufficient relief
- Dr. Thon believes a bone marrow-based treatment may be appropriate for your particular condition
- You want to explore a regenerative option before moving to surgery, when surgery is not immediately necessary
The right treatment is not simply the one with the most advanced-sounding technology. Dr. Thon will evaluate the actual source of your pain and explain whether PRP, BMAC, another nonsurgical treatment, or surgery makes the most sense.
Am I a Candidate?
Regenerative treatment may be worth considering if:
- Your shoulder pain is coming from a condition that may respond to biologic treatment
- You have already tried appropriate nonsurgical care
- You want to explore options before surgery
- Your imaging and examination show that there is a reasonable target for treatment
- You understand that regenerative treatment may improve symptoms without fully reversing structural damage
It may not be the right approach if:
- You have a severe tear or advanced joint damage that is unlikely to respond to an injection
- You have significant weakness or loss of function that requires surgical correction
- Your condition needs a more definitive treatment
- Your expectations are that PRP or BMAC will completely rebuild a damaged joint or tendon
Dr. Thon will tell you honestly whether regenerative treatment is a reasonable option for your shoulder, rather than recommending it simply because it is available.
Frequently Asked Questions
Understanding Regenerative Treatment
Regenerative treatment should not be viewed as a guaranteed way to repair a significant rotator cuff tear. PRP may provide symptom relief and support the healing response in selected partial tears and tendinopathy. More substantial tears may still require surgical repair.
It may help some patients with pain and symptoms related to degenerative shoulder conditions, but it does not reliably restore severely damaged cartilage or reverse advanced arthritis. Dr. Thon will assess how advanced your arthritis is before recommending treatment.
That does not automatically mean you need surgery. Depending on the diagnosis, PRP or BMAC may be worth discussing. If the underlying structural problem is unlikely to respond to regenerative treatment, Dr. Thon will explain that as well.
In many cases, trying an appropriate nonsurgical treatment does not prevent you from having surgery later. Dr. Thon will discuss your specific condition and treatment timeline with you.
These treatments are intended to support a gradual healing response, so improvement is generally measured over weeks rather than days. Your recovery timeline will depend on the condition being treated and your individual response.
Rehabilitation is often an important part of treatment. The timing and type of therapy depend on what is being treated and how much protection the tissue needs after the procedure.