Sunday, March 25, 2007

Dry Needling vs Platelet Rich Plasma

Dry needling involves simply poking a needle several times into or around a tendon. There is some value to this technique that is supported by literature. The results may be due to bleeding that is caused by the needling. Platelet rich plasma injections are similar to the needling technique but also deliver a concentrated amount of growth factors. In Dr. Mishra's pilot study (AJSM Nov. 2006), PRP proved better than needling for chronic elbow tendinosis. More and larger studies are needed to confirm these results. The exact components of PRP must also be better evaluated. Studies to do just that are on-going. Watch this blog for updates.

ApexPRP.com

Thursday, March 22, 2007

Golfer's Elbow Medial Epicondylitis

Platelet Rich Plasma has been used for chronic golfer's elbow (medial epicondylitis) with success. The number of patients treated is much less than lateral. This procedure is not yet approved in the US but has been done in Europe and elsewhere. The technique is the same as lateral with a local anesthetic injection followed by a injection of 2-3 ml of buffered PRP. Please see Dr. Mishra's paper in the American Journal of Sports Medicine (Nov. 2006) for details.

ApexPRP.com
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