The Use of Platelet-Rich Plasma in Management of Chronic Tendinopathies

Background: Tendinopathy is a common chronic disorder in athletes and sedentary individuals affecting almost all tendons especially wrist extensors, supraspinatus tendon and Achilles tendon. Objectives: Assessment the usefulness and efficacy of injecting platelet-rich plasma (PRP) as an alternative way of management of chronic tendinopathies not responding to medical or conservative management. Setting: Orthopedic Department, Qena university hospital, south valley university, Qena Egypt. Patients and methods: The study included 60 patients with chronic tendinopathy. 20 patients with rotator cuff tendinopathy, 20 patients with Achilles tendinopathy and 20 patients with lateral epicondylitis. Clinical and radiological assessment were done to the included patients. Follow up was done 1 week, 1 month and 3 months after injection. Results: The mean pain score was 2.1 ±.9 in patients with Achilles tendinopathy 3 months after injection (68% decrease) while mean joint score was 75.4 ±16.2 (21.5% increase). Patients with rotator cuff tendinopathy had mean pain score 4± 1.8 (31% decrease) while mean joint score was 75.7 ± 15.1 (15% increase). Patients with lateral epicondylitis had mean pain score 3.3 ±1.5 (90.9% increase) while mean joint score was 80.3 ± 13.4 (19% increase) There was statistically significant improvement in patients with Achilles and rotator cuff tendinopathies (P value 0.05). Conclusion: PRP injection is a promising method of treatment in cases of Supraspinatus and Achilles tendinopathies and to a lesser extent in cases of lateral epicondylitis.