Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) Helps Patients

Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) has been used now for more than a decade to treat a variety of orthopedic conditions.  Hundreds of thousands of patients have been treated with a stellar safety record.  The efficacy of PRP has evolved over the years but there are now multiple randomized controlled trials supporting the use of PRP.  This data has been presented at major medical conferences all over the world and published in peer reviewed elite journals such as the American Journal of Sports Medicine.

Below are the highlights from a few of the published papers:


Large Randomized Controlled Trial using PRP for Chronic Tennis Elbow Patients
American Journal of Sports Medicine 2014 

82.1% had successful treatment using PRP  compared to 60.3% in the active control group at six months.  (P = 0.008)  (See Figure)

There was also significantly less elbow tenderness in the PRP treated patients compared to the active control group at six months. (P = 0.009)

PRP Beats Cortisone for Chronic Tennis Elbow at 2 year Follow up
American Journal of Sports Medicine 2011 (100 patient trial)
Patients treated with PRP had dramatically better success rates at 2 years compared to cortisone.
(P < 0.001)

These two trials used the same protocol and same PRP device (Biomet GPS PRP).  There were no significant complications in either study.   Successfully treated patients were able to avoid more invasive and expensive surgical interventions.  This is clear evidence supporting the use of PRP for chronic tennis elbow.

PRP More Effective than Placebo in the Treatment of Knee Osteoarthritis
American Journal of Sports Medicine 2013 (156 knees)
50% improvement in pain scores was noted using PRP compared to worsening of pain in the placebo group at 6 months.  (P < 0.001)

There are now over 7400 references to PRP on PubMed with more than 500 publications last year alone.  This is an indication of the worldwide interest in this topic.   There are literally hundreds of published papers supporting the use of PRP and other blood components to treat disease.  More research and development will always be needed but using a patient's own blood to treat their injuries and disorders simply makes intuitive and scientific sense.  

Patients and providers with experience with platelet rich plasma or other biologic treatments are encouraged to post comments below.

AM
TotalTendon