Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections have been around for a while now. Most of us are familiar with them in relation to treating sports injuries. But other uses are being explored by researchers across the globe. Indeed, one of the more recently published studies suggests that PRP injections could help restore a patient’s lost sense of smell.
PRP injections are among the therapies offered at Lone Star Pain Medicine in Weatherford, Texas. Lone Star doctors say that most applications of the PRP protocol are related to soft tissue injuries, hair growth, and anti-aging treatments (e.g., the vampire facial). They also say that the PRP procedure is safe as long as practiced according to established FDA guidelines.
More About the Study
The previously referenced study was published in the November 2025 issue of the Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery journal. Researchers from Belgium’s University of Mons led it. Researchers enrolled thirty-three patients who lost their sense of smell following a head injury.
Each of the patients was given PRP injections in the nasal region. Two-thirds reported that the ability to smell improved. At the three-month follow-up, doctors observed significant improvements.
In addition, 67% of the patients receiving the injections reported improvements after a single treatment. Smell scores improved significantly, suggesting clinically meaningful advantages over traditional treatments, including olfactory training.
Despite the fact that patients have been experiencing a loss of smell for an average of about five years, it only took just over five weeks for them to detect their first recovered odors. That is pretty impressive.
A Legitimate Issue
It turns out that the loss of a smell is a bigger issue than most people realize. As many as 30% of head trauma patients experience a loss of smell to some degree. Some recover naturally while others live with the loss permanently.
Losing the sense of smell can take the joy out of eating, and that is just for starters. More importantly, not being able to smell properly could make it impossible to identify smoke, leaking gas, chemicals, etc. It can have a real impact on a person’s quality of life and mental health.
If PRP injections can increase the chances of a head trauma patient regaining the sense of smell, they are worth a look. The PRP procedure is fairly basic. It doesn’t require hospitalization, and it is minimally invasive.
The Basics of PRP Therapy
Regardless of its application, the underlying principle of PRP therapy is to introduce a concentration of blood platelets and growth factors to promote natural healing. Take an athlete forced out of competition by a soft tissue injury.
By injecting platelets and growth factors directly into the injury site, the athlete’s doctor is hoping to ‘jump-start’ the healing process so as to get the athlete back into competition faster. If all goes as planned, healing is more thorough as well as natural.
To perform the procedure, the doctor conducts a standard blood draw from the patient himself. The patient’s blood is then processed in a centrifuge to isolate platelets and growth factors. The isolated material is then injected into the injury site.
It Has FDA Approval
Despite what you may have read online, PRP injections have FDA approval. The FDA allows the injections as long as the material utilized is autologous (it comes directly from the patient being treated) and minimally manipulated.
PRP therapy shows a lot of promise for treating soft tissue injuries. And now, thanks to the Belgian research, there appears to be another application for it: helping to restore the sense of smell among head trauma patients.
