For common sources of injury and chronic joint pain, physical therapy helps most patients. However, some do not reach their pain and function goals. These patients are often offered pain meds and corticosteroid injections, but there are more options. For instance, various studies show that a particular treatment can improve these conditions, without drugs, and often over and above the effects available through therapeutic exercise. This is platelet-rich plasma injections, or PRP for short.
For PRP, a doctor draws blood from the patient. Then, a specialized centrifuge spins the blood, separating a plasma rich in healing platelets and growth factors. Finally, a doctor uses ultrasound guidance to inject the platelet-rich plasma into very specific points related to the dysfunction.
Research connects this treatment to improved outcomes for knee osteoarthritis, acute muscle injury, epicondylosis (tennis elbow), plantar fasciosis (heel pain), rotator cuff tears and rotator cuff tendinopathy (shoulder sprains), and more.
Muscle Injuries1
Rotator Cuff (Shoulder)2-10
Osteoarthritis Knee11-13
Patellar Tendon14
Tendinopathy/Tendinitis (General)15
Tennis Elbow / Lateral Epicondylosis16-18
Plantar Fasciitis (Chronic Heel Pain)19-20