Treatment of chronic elbow tendinosis with buffered platelet-rich plasma

Am J Sports Med. 2006 Nov;34(11):1774-8. doi: 10.1177/0363546506288850. Epub 2006 May 30.

Abstract

Background: Elbow epicondylar tendinosis is a common problem that usually resolves with nonoperative treatments. When these measures fail, however, patients are interested in an alternative to surgical intervention.

Hypothesis: Treatment of chronic severe elbow tendinosis with buffered platelet-rich plasma will reduce pain and increase function in patients considering surgery for their problem.

Study design: Cohort study; Level of evidence, 2.

Methods: One hundred forty patients with elbow epicondylar pain were evaluated in this study. All these patients were initially given a standardized physical therapy protocol and a variety of other nonoperative treatments. Twenty of these patients had significant persistent pain for a mean of 15 months (mean, 82 of 100; range, 60-100 of 100 on a visual analog pain scale), despite these interventions. All patients were considering surgery. This cohort of patients who had failed nonoperative treatment was then given either a single percutaneous injection of platelet-rich plasma (active group, n = 15) or bupivacaine (control group, n = 5).

Results: Eight weeks after the treatment, the platelet-rich plasma patients noted 60% improvement in their visual analog pain scores versus 16% improvement in control patients (P =.001). Sixty percent (3 of 5) of the control subjects withdrew or sought other treatments after the 8-week period, preventing further direct analysis. Therefore, only the patients treated with platelet-rich plasma were available for continued evaluation. At 6 months, the patients treated with platelet-rich plasma noted 81% improvement in their visual analog pain scores (P =.0001). At final follow-up (mean, 25.6 months; range, 12-38 months), the platelet-rich plasma patients reported 93% reduction in pain compared with before the treatment (P <.0001).

Conclusion: Treatment of patients with chronic elbow tendinosis with buffered platelet-rich plasma reduced pain significantly in this pilot investigation. Further evaluation of this novel treatment is warranted. Finally, platelet-rich plasma should be considered before surgical intervention.

Publication types

  • Controlled Clinical Trial
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Activities of Daily Living
  • Adult
  • Blood Transfusion, Autologous*
  • Chronic Disease
  • Cohort Studies
  • Follow-Up Studies
  • Humans
  • Middle Aged
  • Pain Measurement
  • Patient Satisfaction
  • Pilot Projects
  • Platelet Transfusion / methods*
  • Tennis Elbow / therapy*
  • Treatment Outcome