Can Platelet-Rich Plasma(PRP) Therapy be Effective for Severe Osteoarthritis?
February 15, 2018
In the last decade, a cutting edge treatment known as platelet-rich plasma(PRP) therapy has gained traction for its ability to promote the repair of damaged tissues. As an isolated part of the blood that is made up of plasma, platelets (clotting cell fragments), and growth factors, it promotes a healing response which in turn induces tissue regeneration. One application of this therapy is to treat knee osteoarthritis, where it has historically been injected in the joint space. However, in recent years, clinicians have explored a novel approach of injecting it within the bone tissue.
Spanish researchers recently examined the effects of treating severe knee osteoarthritis with PRP injections into the joint space compared to a combination therapy of PRP injections in both the joint and within the bone beneath the cartilage. In this study, sixty patients between forty and eighty years old with severe knee osteoarthritis either received the combination therapy or PRP solely in the joint.
The outcome of this study was that PRP injected only in the knee joint was ineffective for severe cases of osteoarthritis. However, the combined PRP treatment in both the knee joint and within bone tissue yielded superior results at the six and twelve-month marks post-treatment in comparison to the group that only received PRP in the joint space. Moreover, both the intraosseous (within the bone) PRP injections and intra-articular (within the joint space) PRP injections were well-tolerated with no complications.
The findings of this study give optimism to a novel PRP application and warrant further research with a larger sample size in the future. Doctors at Orthohealing provide this procedure into bony tissues with excellent results. Dr Sampson just returned from a visit to Vitoria Spain with the authors of the study comparing protocols and experiences for best results!