PRP Injections in Las Vegas for Tendon and Joint Pain
Platelet-rich plasma, or PRP, is a regenerative injection that uses your own blood to support healing in tendons and joints that aren’t recovering on their own. The procedure has become one of the most studied non-surgical treatments in sports medicine over the past two decades, with growing evidence for specific tendon conditions and for early-to-moderate joint arthritis.
PRP injections at this practice are performed by Dr. Jessica Zarndt, a board-certified sports medicine physician and Head Team Physician for the Las Vegas Aces.
Is PRP Right for You?
You’ve already seen urgent care or primary care. You’ve already modified your activity, shortened your runs, sat out the league, changed how you train. The pain is getting worse. You’ve been told to rest, ice, and wait, or you’ve been handed a referral to a surgeon when you weren’t ready for that conversation.
PRP may be the right next step if:
- You have chronic tendon pain that hasn’t healed with rest, physical therapy, or anti-inflammatories
- You’ve been told surgery is the next step and you want to exhaust non-surgical options first
- You have early to moderate osteoarthritis in a knee, hip, shoulder, or ankle
- You’ve had a previous surgery on the joint or tendon and still have pain
- You’re training for something with a date on the calendar and need to keep moving
- You’ve tried cortisone injections and the relief is wearing off faster each time
Most patients who come in for PRP are athletes and active adults. Marathoners and ultra runners. High school and collegiate athletes across every sport. Pickleball and tennis players. Lifters, hikers, cyclists, weekend warriors. The patient who has already changed their life around the pain and isn’t willing to change it any further.
What Platelet-Rich Plasma Actually Is
PRP is made from your own blood. A small sample is drawn at the start of the visit, processed in a centrifuge to concentrate the platelets, and then injected directly into the injured tendon or joint under ultrasound guidance.
Platelets do two things that matter here. They contain growth factors that signal healing in damaged tissue, and they modulate the inflammatory environment around an injury. When you concentrate them and place them precisely where the damage is, you give the body the signal it needs to actually heal tissue that has been stuck.
Tendons and joints respond well to PRP for the same reason they respond poorly to time alone: both have limited blood supply. Tendon tissue, in particular, doesn’t get the steady stream of healing factors that muscle does. That’s why a hamstring strain heals in weeks and a chronic Achilles tendinopathy can sit unchanged for years. PRP delivers the healing signal that the tissue isn’t getting on its own.
It is also worth being direct about what PRP is not. It is not a magic injection. It is not appropriate for every condition or every patient. It is most useful when the diagnosis is right, the patient is the right candidate, and the procedure is performed correctly under imaging guidance. Without those three things, results are inconsistent. With them, the evidence base is solid for a defined set of conditions.
How PRP Compares to Stem Cells and Peptides
Many patients arrive having already tried, or been pitched on, stem cell therapy, exosomes, or peptide protocols. Some of these treatments are promising. Most are expensive, often costing several thousand dollars per session, and most are not FDA-approved for orthopedic use. The marketing has gotten ahead of the evidence.
PRP is different in two important ways. It uses your own blood, so there is no question of cell source, contamination, or regulatory status. And the peer-reviewed evidence for PRP in specific conditions, particularly knee osteoarthritis and several tendinopathies, is substantial and growing.
If you’ve been considering a more experimental treatment, it’s worth having an honest conversation about what the evidence actually supports before spending the money.
Conditions PRP Treats
Dr. Zarndt performs PRP injections for joint and tendon conditions in the wrist, elbow, shoulder, knee, ankle, and hip.
Tendon conditions
- Tennis elbow (lateral epicondylitis)
- Golfer’s elbow (medial epicondylitis)
- Rotator cuff tendinopathy
- Patellar tendinopathy (jumper’s knee)
- Achilles tendinopathy
- Plantar fasciitis
- Hip tendinopathy, including gluteal and hamstring origin
- Biceps tendinopathy
Joint conditions
- Knee osteoarthritis
- Hip osteoarthritis
- Shoulder osteoarthritis
- Ankle osteoarthritis and chronic pain after repeated sprains
- Wrist and small joint arthritis
If you are not sure exactly what is causing your pain, that’s part of what the first visit is for. Diagnosis comes first. PRP is only worth doing if it’s the right answer for the right problem.
What Makes This Different
A PRP injection is only as good as the diagnosis behind it and the precision of the placement. Many of the patients who arrive frustrated with previous PRP have had it done blindly, in the wrong tissue, or for the wrong condition. The procedure itself matters less than the judgment around it.
Every injection is ultrasound-guided. Live imaging means the needle is visible in real time and the PRP goes exactly where it needs to go. Research has shown that blind injections miss the target at significant rates, particularly in the hip, shoulder, and ankle, and in any joint that has had previous surgery. A missed PRP injection is a wasted PRP injection.
Combined PRP and hyaluronic acid for joint pain. For certain joints, particularly the knee with moderate osteoarthritis, there is solid academic evidence that combining PRP with hyaluronic acid produces better outcomes than either treatment alone. The hyaluronic acid provides immediate lubrication and cushioning. The PRP works on the underlying tissue over the following weeks and months. Few clinics in Las Vegas offer this combination.
A team physician’s perspective. Dr. Zarndt serves as Head Team Physician for the Las Vegas Aces and Team Physician for the Las Vegas Raiders. She is a former team physician for the Los Angeles Dodgers and UCLA Athletics. Treating professional athletes changes how a physician thinks about return-to-activity timelines, tissue loading, and what a real recovery plan looks like. That framework comes with you whether you’re a pro or a weekend pickleball player.
Honest about what PRP can and can’t do. Not every patient is a PRP candidate. If you would do better with a different treatment, or with surgery, or with a structured loading program before any procedure at all, you will hear that.
How PRP Compares to Other Options
Most patients arrive comparing PRP to whatever they have already tried or been offered.
PRP vs. cortisone. Cortisone reduces inflammation and can provide fast, short-term relief. It does not address damaged tissue, and repeated use can weaken tendons and accelerate cartilage loss. Cortisone has a place, particularly for short-term flare control, but it should not be the default for every patient. PRP aims to actually heal the tissue rather than mask the symptoms.
PRP vs. surgery. PRP is non-surgical, performed in office under local anesthetic, with no formal recovery downtime. For many patients, particularly those with chronic tendinopathy or early-to-moderate osteoarthritis, PRP is a reasonable option to exhaust before considering surgical intervention. When surgery is the right call, you’ll be referred to a surgeon Dr. Zarndt trusts.
PRP vs. stem cells and peptides. Covered in detail above. The short version: PRP uses your own blood, has a substantial peer-reviewed evidence base, and costs less than stem cell or peptide protocols. The evidence for those other treatments is still evolving and most are not FDA-approved for orthopedic use.
PRP vs. doing nothing. Chronic tendinopathy past the three-to-six-month mark rarely improves on its own. Waiting longer usually means more compensation patterns, more deconditioning, and a longer return to activity once you do treat it.
Cost and Insurance
PRP is a cash-pay service and is not covered by commercial insurance or Medicare. Pricing depends on the joint or tendon being treated, whether the protocol includes hyaluronic acid, and whether a single injection or a series is planned. Call the office for current pricing.
Work comp is accepted for related conditions where applicable. Hyaluronic acid injections on their own, separate from PRP, are often covered by insurance and can be discussed at the consultation if that is a better fit.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many PRP injections will I need? For most tendon conditions, one to three injections spaced several weeks apart. For knee osteoarthritis, the protocol is often two to three injections in a single course, sometimes repeated annually if results are good. The specific plan depends on the diagnosis and your response.
How long until I feel a difference? PRP is not a same-day pain reliever. Most patients notice improvement starting at four to six weeks, with continued improvement out to three to six months as the tissue remodels. If you need fast relief before a specific event, PRP is not the right tool for that.
Can I get PRP if I’ve already had surgery and still have pain? Yes. Post-surgical pain that hasn’t resolved is one of the more common reasons patients seek out PRP. Ultrasound guidance is especially important in these cases because the anatomy is altered.
Is PRP painful? The blood draw is a standard blood draw. The injection itself is performed with local anesthetic. Most patients describe pressure rather than pain during the procedure. Soreness at the injection site for one to three days afterward is normal and expected.
Can I keep training between treatments? Usually yes, with modifications. The first 48 to 72 hours after each injection involve relative rest. After that, most patients return to light activity quickly, with a structured progression back to full training. The plan is built around your sport.
Why isn’t PRP covered by insurance? Insurance coverage for PRP varies by indication and has been slow to catch up to the evidence base. For now, it remains cash-pay in most of the country, including Las Vegas.
How is your PRP different from what other clinics in Las Vegas offer? Three things. Every injection is ultrasound-guided, not blind. The diagnosis comes first, which means PRP is recommended only when it’s actually the right treatment. And for joint conditions where the evidence supports it, combined PRP and hyaluronic acid is offered, which most clinics in town do not.
What’s the difference between PRP and stem cell therapy? PRP uses your own blood, has a substantial peer-reviewed evidence base, and is significantly less expensive. Stem cell protocols are often experimental, not FDA-approved for orthopedic use, and frequently cost several times what PRP costs. Both are sometimes appropriate, but the marketing for stem cells has outpaced the evidence in many cases.
Am I too old or too young for PRP? PRP is performed for patients across a wide age range. The lower limit in this practice is age ten, and there is no upper limit. The right question is not your age. It’s whether your specific condition and goals make PRP the right tool.
Ready to Stop Sitting Out?
If you’ve been told to rest, given a cortisone shot that didn’t last, or told surgery is the next step, a consultation is the right next move. Dr. Zarndt will review your imaging, perform a hands-on evaluation, give you an honest read on whether PRP is the right call for your situation, and build a plan around your goals.