NFL grants $100,000 to study PRP and Stem Cells for Tendon Disorders

The National Football League recently granted $100,000 to the Hospital for Special Surgery to study the effects of platelet rich plasma and stem cells on tendons.  The research will be conducted by Dr. Scott Rodeo, associate team physician for the New York Giants.  The focus will be to better understand the effects of different formulations of PRP in a preclinical model.  Specific evaluations of how PRP influences the tendon structure will be done.

This is important research that should help answer multiple questions.  Clinical studies to date have been variable in their outcomes.  The best available data today supports the use of PRP with white blood cells injected in an unactivated form for chronic tennis elbow.  We need to better understand the mechanisms underlying various forms of PRP in order to best apply it clinically.

We will all be most interested in following the results of their investigations.

See full article about research grant. 

Allan Mishra
TotalTendon
@BloodCure

Emerging Trends in Tendinopathy

AM with Dr. Robert Nirschl at AMSSM Meeting in Tampa

Dr. Kim Harmon, president of the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine organized an amazing group to discuss tendinopathy in Tampa last week. Dr. Robert Nirschl, the Godfather of tennis elbow spoke about his pioneering work in surgery. Dr. Hakan Alfredson from Sweden discussed the value of eccentric exercises for chronic tendinopathy. Dr. John McShane outlined the value of percutaneous tenotomy and Dr. David Connell from London spoke about the use of blood and stem cells for severe cases. AM presented the case for using platelet rich plasma for tendon related problems.

Overall, it was one of the best sessions ever presented on the topic. Great work and thanks to Dr. Harmon for bringing us all together.

AM
Total Tendon
ApexPRP.com

Future Trends in Sports Medicine

Below is the abstract from a soon to be published article discussing the use of PRP for tendon and muscle. It will be published in a volume of Clinics in Sports Medicine entitled: "Future Trends in Sports Medicine"

AM (Total Tendon, ApexPRP)

Treatment of Tendon and Muscle Using Platelet-Rich Plasma.Mishra A, Woodall J Jr, Vieira A.Clin Sports Med. 2009 Jan;28(1):113-125.Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Menlo Medical Clinic, Stanford University Medical Center, 1300 Crane Street, Menlo Park, CA 94025, USA.

Tendon and muscle injuries are common in elite and weekend athletes. Treatment of these injuries in both groups is rapidly evolving. Sports medicine patients are demanding better and less invasive solutions for all types of musculoskeletal disorders. In this context, platelet-rich plasma (PRP) has emerged as a potential solution. PRP is a fraction of whole blood containing concentrated growth factors and proteins. These cytokines direct tissue healing through autocrine and paracrine effects. The number of basic science, animal, and human investigations of PRP for tendon and muscle injuries worldwide has risen sharply in recent years. These studies are helping clinicians better understand the mechanisms of PRP and are guiding novel treatment protocols. In this paper, the value of PRP as a treatment for acute or chronic tendon and muscle disorders is explored.

Platelet Rich Plasma beats Cortisone

Gosens and Sluimer in a prospective, randomized controlled trial of 100 patients with tennis elbow found PRP beat cortisone in terms of improvement in pain and function at 24 weeks. This excellent study (Level 1 evidence) for the first time confirms platelet rich plasma performs better than the "gold standard" of treatment for patients with tennis elbow that don't respond to simple treatments.

Gosen and his colleagues will be hosting a "Trends in Tendinopathy" course next week in Europe. AM will be presenting and in this space, I will report the details of that important conference.

Total Tendon

ApexPRP.com