The March 2011 edition of The American Journal of Sports Medicine published an article that showed superior results in pain and function from PRP Platelet Rich Therapy Injection compared to a cortisone shot at 2 year follow up. The controlled blinded study is the largest of it’s kind involving 2 Dutch teaching Hospitals. Overall 100 patients with tennis elbow (lateral epicondylitis) were involved in the study.
More & more studies are emerging on PRP therapy. Not all will be positive do the the variablity of study design, injection technique with or without ultrasound or x-ray guidance, platelet concentration, and severity of existing injury.
Nonetheless we’ve seen this procedure come along way in the nearly 5 years since we began conducting research & treating patients with PRP. We are principal investigators in the largest US controlled & blinded clinical trial on PRP involving 12 centers to determine if PRP injections are a safe & effective treatment for tennis elbow. Enrollment has been complete for almost 2 months with 230 patients.
A recent study in Orthopedics also demonstrated efficacy in PRP treatment for golfers & tennis elbow.
Performing reserach takes lots of time & resources, however as clinicians we have a responsibility to document our work & add the the field of regenerative medicine to maximize benefits & safety to our patients. There is much skepticism in the media regarding this novel therapy & many others. What most don’t realize is that publishing a 2 year study of this magnitude requires considerable time & resources. Congrats to the authors. Our 1 year knee arthritis PRP study took years to reach publication with lack of resouces etc.