Kenyon Martin to Undergo PRP Blood Treatment on Ailing Left Knee

DENVER -- Nobody doubts, as Dick Vitale might suggest, Denver Nuggets forward Kenyon Martin is a PTPer. Now, he'll find out if he can be helped by being a PRPer.

The Nuggets released an injury report Monday on Martin, saying he will undergo platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy on his left knee, which the team has said has tendinitis. That's a treatment in which a patient's own blood is injected into an injured area to repair muscle bone and other tissue.

The Nuggets' report gave no timetable for how long Martin will be sidelined other than saying he "is expected to return during the 2009-10 season.''

No Nuggets official had expressed any public fear Martin might be done for the season. Nuggets coach George Karl had been hopeful when speaking Sunday about Martin.

"I think I'm optimistic,'' Karl said. "So I'm thinking everything is going to be fine.''

The Nuggets didn't practice Monday. Team officials did observe free-agent big men Brian Cook and Jake Voksuhl in their first of two straight days of working them out at the Pepsi Center. Interestingly, Cook told FanHouse he had considered undergoing PRP treatment late last season after having tendinitis in his left and right Achilles and did much research before opting not to have it.

Martin, a defensive stalwart averaging 11.8 points and 9.6 rebounds, has missed the past two games and five of the past 12 due to his knee problems. Over the weekend, several doctors evaluated an MRI that Martin had last Thursday, and there was a consultation with Martin on Monday in which it was decided he would have PRP treatment.

Although there was a Yahoo Sports! report last Friday in which unnamed sources said Martin has a partial tear of his left patella, the Nuggets throughout the weekend did not call the injury anything other than left knee tendinitis. The release Monday outlined only a treatment plan, and a Nuggets publicist noted there would be no further comment at this time.

A New York Times article last year discussed PRP, calling it an "innovative injury treatment.'' It was noted how Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward, using PRP injections, was able to recover from a medial collateral ligament sprain suffered in his right knee in the AFC Championship game against Baltimore on Jan. 18, 2009 and played in team's Feb. 1, 2009 Super Bowl win over Arizona.

The article cited doctors as saying the technique appears to help regenerate ligament and tendon fibers, which could shorten rehabilitation time and eliminate surgery.

"It's a better option for problems that don't have a great solution. It's nonsurgical and uses the body's own cells to help it heal," Dr. Allan Mishra, an assistant professor of orthopedics at Stanford University Medical Center, was quoted as saying in the article. "I think it's fair to say that platelet-rich plasma has the potential to revolutionize not just sports medicine but all of orthopedics. It needs a lot more study, but we are obligated to pursue this."

The article also mentioned how Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Takashi Saito used the treatment in July 2008 to recover from a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament in his throwing elbow and was back by September. Surgery would have shelved him 10 to 14 months.

An article in Scientific America last December discussed the pros and cons of the treatment and noted golfer Tiger Woods, while coming off knee surgery, had PRP injections before all four 2009 majors.

Cook said he went over the procedure with doctors late last season when he was with the Houston Rockets. He opted not to have it, and he did have some soreness in his each of his Achilles tendons during the summer before feeling better during training camp.

"It's a fairly new treatment where they recycle the blood to promote healing,'' Cook said. "I know some NBA players have gotten it. (Golden State's) Corey Maggette had it when he had a hamstring problem last summer. And a couple of other guys. It's a fairly new process that has had some good responses and, in some instances, some bad responses. ... It's a last-resort type of treatment. For me, they said I would have been out a couple of weeks, but I don't know what the doctors are saying about Kenyon.''

Portland guard Brandon Roy had the treatment this season during a stretch in which he missed 14 of 15 games in January and February. He told the Oregonian last month he opted not to have a second injection, but didn't fully elaborate.

"It was talked about but it's not something that I want to do right now," Roy told the paper about a possible second PRP injection. "So it's (been) put off. Maybe never.''

While the Nuggets don't know yet how long Martin, their starting power forward, might be out, they are seeking some depth in the post.

"It went well,'' Voskuhl said of going against Cook in the first day of the workouts. "We'll see what happens. We're two different players. (Cook) is more of an outside shooter and I'm an inside guy, so it's whatever they're looking for.''

Cook believes he can help the Nuggets.

"We had a situation in which guys were out before. Everybody has got to step up. This situation will bring us together."
- Carmelo Anthony "I think they could use a pick-and-pop guy like me,'' Cook said. "I can really help a team with my shooting ability. I can be hard for a big guy to guard.''

The Nuggets have yet to make a determination what type of player they want. They also have made calls on free-agent big men Mikki Moore, Mark Blount and Rob Kurz.

In the meantime, the Nuggets are doing better at getting by without Martin. They're 4-1 during games he's sat out in the past month after being 0-3 when Martin missed time in December and January due to other injuries.

"We had a situation in which guys were out before,'' Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony said Sunday about playing with Martin sidelined. "Everybody has got to step up. This situation will bring us together.

"It's that time of the year where I got to take over -- not so much scoring the basketball, but making guys better like I did (with five assists in Sunday' 118-106 win over Portland). They had confidence in knocking shots down when they were open, making something happen when I gave it to them. I think that's something that I might have to do a lot more now that K-Mart is out.''

In addition to Martin missing eight games so far this season, fellow starters Anthony and point guard Chauncey Billups have missed 13 and nine games, respectively. The other two starters, center Nene and guard Arron Afflalo, have played in all 63 games.

In the win over Portland, sparingly used center Johan Petro got his first start of the season, with Nene sliding to power forward. Petro responded with six points and a team-high 10 rebounds in 23 minutes.

More games like that from Petro and the Nuggets can afford to take their time in making a decision on what to do with their big-man situation.

Chris Tomasson can be reached at tomasson@fanhouse.com or on Twitter @christomasson