March 10, 2010 – Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) -- the latest,
still-controversial treatment for tendon injuries -- heals tennis elbow
better than corticosteroid shots, a new study suggests.
Because
they get very little blood, injured tendons heal notoriously slowly.
Blood platelets attract healing growth factors, so the idea of PRP is to
inject a patient's own platelets at the site of a tendon injury.
To
date, small studies suggest that PRP works for tennis elbow. However, a
recent study in patients with Achilles tendon injuries yielded
disappointing results.
At the same time, corticosteroid shots have
been losing favor. They are great at relieving acute pain in the short
term, but they don't promote healing and may lead to further tendon
breakdown.
So what are tennis elbow sufferers supposed to do for
their aching arms? A strong hint comes from Taco Gosens, MD, PhD, and
colleagues at St. Elisabeth Hospital in Tilburg, Netherlands.
The
researchers randomly assigned patients with chronic lateral
epicondylitis -- tennis elbow lasting longer than six months and pain
ranking at least 5 on a 10-point scale -- to get either a PRP or
corticosteroid injection.
Both injections were given directly into
the area of maximum tenderness and also into the tendon using a
"peppering" technique in which the needle, after being passed through
the skin, is inserted several times into the tendon.
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