ACP The­rapy Vi­enna | Au­to­log­ous Blood The­rapy | Stem Cell Therapy

The ACP the­rapy (Au­to­log­ous Con­di­tio­ned Plasma) is a mo­dern au­to­log­ous blood the­rapy used to treat joint and ten­don pain. A small amount of blood is ta­ken, pro­ces­sed and the con­cen­tra­ted plasma with its na­tu­ral growth fac­tors is in­jec­ted di­rectly into the af­fec­ted joint or tis­sue. This pro­mo­tes he­al­ing, re­du­ces in­flamm­a­tion and re­li­e­ves pain in a na­tu­ral way – wi­t­hout any for­eign sub­s­tances or medication. 

• The ACP the­rapy uses the bo­dy’s own growth fac­tors from blood plasma to re­ge­ne­rate tis­sue and in­hi­bit inflammation.
• Au­to­log­ous blood the­rapy is a ge­ne­ric term for va­rious tre­at­ments with the bo­dy’s own blood, in­clu­ding ACP.
• Stem cell the­rapy is ba­sed on the ex­tra­c­tion and in­jec­tion of the bo­dy’s own stem cells to spe­ci­fi­cally re­pair da­ma­ged tissue.

While ACP is mainly used to treat ar­thro­sis, ten­do­ni­tis and sports in­ju­ries, stem cell the­rapy is of­ten used to re­ge­ne­rate car­ti­lage tis­sue in ad­van­ced ar­thro­sis.

The ACP au­to­log­ous blood the­rapy can be used for a va­riety of or­tho­pe­dic con­di­ti­ons, including:

• • Ar­thro­sis in the knee, hip, shoulder or ankle
  • Ten­do­ni­tis (e.g. ten­nis el­bow, Achil­les ten­don irritation)
  • Sports in­ju­ries (e.g. sprains, mus­cle injuries)
  • Joint wear in the early and mid-stage
  • Post­ope­ra­tive sup­port af­ter or­tho­pe­dic procedures

The tre­at­ment is car­ried out on an out­pa­ti­ent ba­sis and ta­kes about 15–20 minutes:

1. 1. Blood coll­ec­tion: A small amount of blood is ta­ken from the arm vein.
   2. Pre­pa­ra­tion: The blood is cen­tri­fu­ged in a spe­cial pro­cess to iso­late the pl­ate­let-rich plasma (ACP).
   3. In­jec­tion: The con­cen­tra­ted plasma is in­jec­ted di­rectly into the af­fec­ted joint or tissue.

De­pen­ding on the stage of ar­thro­sis or in­jury, 3–5 ses­si­ons at in­ter­vals of one week each are usually re­qui­red. The tre­at­ment can be re­pea­ted in­di­vi­du­ally to sup­port long-term regeneration. 

Many pa­ti­ents feel an im­pro­ve­ment af­ter just a few days. The full ef­fect oc­curs in the weeks af­ter the last in­jec­tion and lasts for se­ve­ral months to over a year, de­pen­ding on the condition. 

The ACP au­to­log­ous blood the­rapy can de­lay or even avoid sur­gery in many ca­ses, espe­ci­ally in the case of in­ci­pi­ent or mo­de­rate ar­thro­sis. In the case of ad­van­ced joint wear, it can alle­viate the sym­ptoms, but can­not al­ways re­place a joint replacement. 

Since ACP the­rapy uses only the bo­dy’s own sub­s­tances, it is par­ti­cu­larly well to­le­ra­ted. Oc­ca­sio­nally, slight red­ness or swel­ling may oc­cur at the in­jec­tion site, but this will subs­ide quickly. Se­rious side ef­fects are ex­tre­mely rare. 

Yes, ACP the­rapy can be ide­ally com­bi­ned with phy­sio­the­rapy, hyalu­ro­nic acid in­jec­tions or other re­ge­ne­ra­tive the­ra­pies such as stem cell the­rapy. An in­di­vi­du­ally tail­o­red tre­at­ment can fur­ther enhance the effect. 

In Aus­tria, ACP the­rapy is one of the in­di­vi­dual he­alth ser­vices (IGeL) and is the­r­e­fore ge­ne­rally not reim­bur­sed by sta­tu­tory he­alth insu­rance funds. Pri­vate he­alth insu­rance or sup­ple­men­tary insu­rance po­li­cies co­ver the costs in part or in full.