After seeing athletes like Tiger Woods, Tom Brady and Kobe Bryant use platelet rich plasma to treat their injuries, consumers have been more motivated to treat their injuries with the same treatment.
However, a recent study by Tim Caulfield, Canada Research Chair, published in PLOS, showed this form of treatment may be exaggerated by the media.
Here are five things to know:
1. In the United States, 87.1 percent of news articles about platelet rich plasma were sports related stories.
2. Of the articles published about platelet rich plasma, 64.8 percent included a brief description of the procedure while 32.5 percent included a detailed description.
3. Approximately 67 percent of articles portrayed platelet rich plasma injections as a routine procedure and 22 percent portrayed the injections as new or cutting edge.
4. In total, 11.7 percent of the articles published described the injections as being experimental.
5. In the end, 23.8 percent of platelet rich plasma injections articles described the treatment as effective.