What is PRP treatment for hair loss?

PRP (Platelet-Rich Plasma) treatment for hair loss uses your body's own natural growth factors to revive thinning hair, strengthen follicles and boost new growth. The London PRP Clinic offers doctor-led PRP treatments for hair, scalp, and beard growth with proven results.

Does PRP work for beard growth?

Yes, PRP beard growth treatment is highly effective for filling patchy areas, enhancing beard density, and promoting thicker facial hair. Our doctor-led PRP beard treatment at £395 per session uses platelet-rich plasma to stimulate dormant hair follicles in the beard area.

How much does PRP treatment cost in London?

PRP treatment prices at The London PRP Clinic range from £395 for PRP Hair Signature or Beard PRP single sessions, to £545 for comprehensive treatments. We offer package discounts - for example, 3 PRP Hair sessions cost £1,085 (save £100).

What PRP services are available at The London PRP Clinic?

We offer PRP treatments for hair loss, beard growth, facial rejuvenation, under-eye treatment, knee joint pain, and scalp health. All treatments are doctor-led and evidence-based, delivered at our Marylebone and Belgravia London locations.

How much does PRP cost for hair loss in London?

At The London PRP Clinic, PRP hair treatment costs £545 per session including Viviscal™ supplements and organic oils. Most patients need 3-4 initial sessions (package available at £1,500, saving £135). ExoRevive exosome treatment is £445 per session.

Does PRP really work for hair loss?

Yes, clinical studies show PRP is 70-90% effective for androgenetic alopecia. At our clinic, 87% of patients report significant improvement with an average 32% increase in hair density after 3-4 sessions. Results are best for Norwood stages 1-4.

What's better PRP or hair transplant?

PRP is ideal for early-stage hair loss (Norwood 1-4): non-surgical, no downtime, £545 per session. Hair transplants suit advanced loss (Norwood 5-7): permanent but surgical, 2-week recovery, £3,000-15,000. Many combine both for optimal results - PRP strengthens existing hair and enhances transplant survival.

How long do PRP results last?

PRP results typically last 12-18 months with proper maintenance. After initial 3-4 sessions, maintenance treatments every 6 months sustain results. Some patients using our combined protocol (PRP + supplements) report results lasting up to 2 years.

Is PRP painful for hair?

PRP involves minimal discomfort. We use topical numbing cream 30 minutes before treatment. Most patients rate pain as 2-3/10, describing it as 'mild pinching.' The entire procedure takes 60 minutes with no downtime - you can return to work immediately.

Can I wash my hair after PRP?

Wait 24 hours before washing your hair after PRP. Use lukewarm water and gentle shampoo for the first wash. Avoid swimming pools, saunas, and intense exercise for 48 hours. We provide detailed aftercare instructions and organic hair oil for optimal healing.

What are the newest hair loss treatments in 2025?

The newest effective hair loss treatments in 2025 include low-dose oral minoxidil (2.5-5mg daily), topical finasteride (0.25%), platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy, and low-level laser therapy devices. Emerging treatments like JAK inhibitors and topical androgen receptor antagonists are showing promising results in clinical trials.

Does oral minoxidil work for hair loss?

Yes, low-dose oral minoxidil (2.5-5mg daily) has proven highly effective for both male and female pattern hair loss. Studies show it's particularly effective for overall thinning, with manageable side effects primarily limited to mild hypertrichosis (extra hair growth).

Is PRP effective for hair restoration?

Yes, PRP therapy has demonstrated significant improvement in hair count and thickness in clinical trials. Most patients see noticeable results after 3-4 sessions, using the body's own growth factors to stimulate dormant hair follicles.

What's the best hair loss treatment in London?

The best hair loss treatment depends on your specific condition, but combination therapy often yields optimal results. The London PRP Clinic offers personalised treatment plans combining PRP therapy with other evidence-based treatments. Book a free consultation to determine the best approach for your hair loss pattern.

How much does PRP hair treatment cost in London?

PRP hair treatment costs vary based on the number of sessions needed. The London PRP Clinic offers competitive pricing with free initial consultations. Contact us via WhatsApp for a personalised quote based on your specific treatment needs.

Gluteal Tendinopathy Exercises. The Loading Programme That Beat Injection In A Randomised Trial

21 Sept

Written By Sama Samy

Outer hip pain has a treatment with better trial evidence than anything we inject, and it is a progressive loading programme. In the LEAP trial, published in the BMJ in 2018, education plus exercise beat a single corticosteroid injection and a wait-and-see approach at 8 weeks and still held the advantage at 52. This page sets out what that programme involves, because a great many people are told to strengthen their hip without ever being told how.

Key points

In LEAP, roughly 80% of the education and exercise group reported recovery at 52 weeks, against around 50% in the corticosteroid and wait-and-see groups.
The programme was 14 supervised sessions across 8 weeks, not a sheet of exercises, and the strengthening continued well beyond that.
Load management comes first. Removing the positions that compress the tendon is free and changes symptoms within days.
Progress is judged on pain the morning after, not pain during the exercise itself.

Been told to strengthen your hip with no plan? Message a GMC-registered doctor on WhatsApp or email team@thewellnesslondon.com.

Why loading works when injections do not

Gluteal tendinopathy is a failed healing response in the gluteus medius and minimus tendons where they attach to the greater trochanter. It is not primarily an inflammatory condition, which is why anti-inflammatory injection gives relief that fades and why the older label of trochanteric bursitis sent a generation of patients down the wrong path.

Tendon responds to mechanical load. Graded, progressive tension applied over months changes the structure and tolerance of the tissue in a way nothing injected does. That is true across the body, in the Achilles, the patellar tendon and the rotator cuff as well as here, and it is the reason loading is first-line in every credible guideline on tendinopathy.

The second mechanism is compression. The iliotibial band presses these tendons against the bone whenever the hip adducts, meaning whenever the thigh travels towards or across the midline. Strengthening the abductors stops the pelvis dropping when you stand on one leg, which reduces that compression every time you take a step.

Stage zero. The positions to stop today

Nothing in the programme works while the tendon is being compressed for 8 hours a night.

Stop sleeping on the painful side. If you cannot, a folded duvet under the upper body reduces the load through the hip. On the good side, put a firm pillow between the knees so the upper leg cannot fall across the midline, and keep it there all night rather than only at lights out.

Stop sitting cross-legged, and stop sitting in low, deep chairs and car seats where the knees end up above the hips. Raise the seat rather than change how you sit.

Stop standing hanging on one hip, the posture people adopt while queueing, cooking or holding a child. Weight through both feet, every time you notice.

Stop the stretches. Pulling the knee across the body, the figure-four stretch and the classic ITB stretch all compress exactly the tendon you are trying to settle, and they are the single most common thing people are doing daily in the belief it helps.

Not sure this is the right diagnosis? Ask our doctors on WhatsApp.

The programme, stage by stage

The trial protocol moved through familiarisation, early loading and then graduated functional loading. What follows is the shape of it. It is not a substitute for supervision, and the reason the trial used 14 sessions is that progression and technique are where people go wrong.

Stage 1. Familiarisation, weeks 1 to 2

Isometric holds, meaning the muscle works without the joint moving. Isometrics load the tendon while keeping compression low, and they frequently reduce pain in the session itself.

An isometric abduction hold against a wall or a belt, held for 30 to 45 seconds, repeated 4 or 5 times, once or twice daily. Bridging with the feet hip-width, held rather than repeated. Both done in neutral, with the hip never crossing the midline.

Stage 2. Early loading, weeks 3 to 6

Slow, controlled repetitions with the hip kept in neutral. Side-lying abduction with the top leg held slightly behind the line of the body rather than in front. Standing abduction with a band at ankle height. Double-leg bridging progressing to single-leg. Sit-to-stand from a raised surface, which loads the abductors far more than people expect.

Two or three sessions a week, 3 sets of 8 to 12, with the load rising as soon as the last repetition stops feeling hard.

Stage 3. Functional loading, weeks 7 to 12 and beyond

Single-leg work, because the pelvis control that protects the tendon only trains under single-leg load. Step-ups with a controlled descent. Split squats. Single-leg bridging. Offset carries, holding weight in one hand and resisting the lean.

By this point load should be genuinely heavy for you, and progression continues for months rather than weeks. This is the stage most people never reach, and it is the stage that holds the result.

How to tell whether it is working

Judge the morning after, not the session. Pain during loading is acceptable at a level you would call mild and tolerable. Pain that is worse the next morning than the previous morning means the load was too high, so drop back one step rather than stopping altogether.

Expect weeks, not days. In the trial the separation from the other groups was clear at 8 weeks and larger at 52.

Where injection fits, honestly

Corticosteroid has a narrow role. Where pain is severe enough that you cannot begin loading at all, it can open a window. It is not the treatment, it gave short-lived benefit in the trial, and steroid around tendon can leave it more vulnerable to tearing.

PRP is a reasonable second-line option where a genuine loading programme has been completed without adequate improvement, since it targets failed healing rather than suppressing inflammation and carries no tendon-weakening concern. It does not replace the loading work, and anyone offering it before you have done the programme is selling against the evidence.

What this costs in London

A structured physiotherapy programme in London runs roughly £60 to £120 per session, and the trial protocol was 14 sessions. NHS physiotherapy is free, and given the evidence it is the first thing to pursue rather than the last.

Image-guided joint and tendon PRP at specialist central London clinics commonly costs from around £780 to £900 or more per injection including assessment, with a course frequently exceeding £2,000. Our care is doctor-led and priced below flagship central London rates, with the figure confirmed after your free suitability review.

Ask whether you have had a real trial of loading. Message us on WhatsApp.

The suitability review

Every enquiry begins with a free doctor-led suitability review rather than a booking. A GMC-registered doctor takes your history, examines the hip, scans it with ultrasound to confirm the diagnosis and exclude a tear, hip osteoarthritis or referred spinal pain, and gives one of two answers.

Approved for treatment, with the plan, the loading work alongside it and the cost before you commit. Or not approved, which for this condition is the more common outcome, because most people who contact us have never had a supervised programme and the trial evidence says that programme outperforms what we would charge them for.

Why people choose The London PRP Clinic by The Wellness

The London PRP Clinic by The Wellness is a doctor-led clinic treating from 10 Portman Square in Marylebone and the Light Centre in Belgravia. Every treatment is performed by GMC-registered doctors using image guidance, and no clinician treats a patient here until they have completed 100 supervised treatments.

We teach ultrasound-guided joint PRP to doctors through our Academy, and we publish the evidence even where it points away from treatment we provide. Across our work we report more than 187 five-star reviews.

Book your free suitability review. Message us on WhatsApp, email team@thewellnesslondon.com, or call +44 20 3951 3429.

Frequently asked questions about gluteal tendinopathy exercises

How long before exercises help gluteal tendinopathy?

Expect weeks. In the LEAP trial the exercise group was clearly ahead at 8 weeks and the advantage was still there at 52 weeks, so the programme is measured in months rather than sessions.

Should stretching be part of it?

No. Stretches that pull the knee across the body compress the tendon against the greater trochanter and commonly make symptoms worse. Strengthening in neutral is what the trial protocol used.

Can I do the exercises at home?

Partly, though the trial used 14 supervised sessions, and progression and technique are where home programmes fail. Supervision at least at the start is worth more than the equipment.

Is it normal for the exercises to hurt?

Mild, tolerable discomfort during loading is acceptable. The test is the next morning. If it is worse than the previous morning, the load was too high and you step back rather than stop.

Why does a pillow between the knees help?

It stops the upper leg falling across the midline, which is the position that compresses the gluteal tendons against the bone. Eight hours of that each night undoes a lot of daytime work.

When should I consider an injection instead?

Where a genuine, progressive programme has been completed without adequate improvement, or where pain is severe enough to prevent you starting one at all. Not as a first step.

This article is for information and does not replace personal medical advice. Loading rehabilitation remains the first-line treatment for gluteal tendinopathy. Evidence for PRP differs by condition and preparation is not standardised. All treatments at The London PRP Clinic by The Wellness are performed by GMC-registered doctors. Reviewed by [GMC-REGISTERED DOCTOR NAME, GMC NUMBER TO CONFIRM], The London PRP Clinic by The Wellness. Last updated September 2026.
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Sama Samy