Note: Accelerate® Concentrating System and Accelerate PRP Sport® have not been evaluated by the FDA for specific therapeutic indications.

Numerous studies have shown favorable clinical outcomes of PRP treatment in tendon and ligament injuries. Outcomes from those studies are listed here.

Elbow Tendinosis

Mishra and Pavelko investigated the treatment of chronic severe elbow tendinosis with buffered platelet-rich plasma. At six months, patients treated with PRP noted an 81 percent improvement in their pain and by the end of two years reported a 93 percent reduction in pain prior to treatment.¹

Achilles Tendon

Monto studied the effects of PRP therapy to treat chronic Achilles tendon pain. His study reported an improvement in American Foot and Ankle Score (AOFAS) ranging from 0 to 100, with 0 indicating extreme symptoms and 100 indicating no symptoms. Prior to treatment, the average score was 34; one-month after treatment, average scores went to 84 and then up to 92 after six months.²

In another study, Sanchez and team treated patients with PRP during Achilles tendon surgery. Those treated with PRP were able to return to their sport activity at an average of 14 weeks compared to an average of 22 weeks without PRP treatment.³

Rotator Cuff

Randelli and team found that patients who underwent arthroscopic rotator cuff repair and received a local application of autologous PRP demonstrated a significant decrease in pain scores (VAS pain score) and an improvement in function scores (UCLA and Constant scores).⁴

Jumper's Knee

Filardo and team investigated the use of PRP injections in cases of chronic refractory jumper’s knee. Patients who received PRP injections observed statistically significant improvement in all scores evaluated at the end of therapy. At six months, knee function and quality of life improved and a majority of the patients returned to their previous sporting activity level.⁵

Plantar Fasciitis

Barrett and Erredge demonstrated that PRP could be safely injected via ultrasound for plantar fasciitis. At one year, seven of nine patients had complete resolution of pain.⁶

Muscle Injuries

Sanchez and team evaluated ultrasound-guided injections of PRP in 22 muscle injuries in 20 professional athletes. They reported full functional recovery in all patients in half of the expected recovery time. No fibrosis was seen and no re-injuries occurred in any athlete once normal activities were resumed.⁷

References

1. Mishra A, Pavelko T. Treatment of chronic elbow tendinosis with buffered platelet-rich plasma. Am J Sports Med. 2006 Nov;34(11):1774-8.

2. Monto R. Platelet-rich plasma in sports medicine. Proceedings of the 57th Annual Meeting of the Piedmont Orthopedic Society. 2009;Sea Island, Ga.

3. Sánchez M, et al. Comparison of surgically repaired Achilles tendon tears using platelet-rich fibrin matrices. Am JSports Med. 2007 Feb;35(2):245-51.

4. Randelli PS, et al. Autologous platelet rich plasma for arthroscopic rotator cuff repair. A pilot study. Disabil Rehabil. 2008;30(20-22):1584-9.

5. Filardo G, et al. Use of platelet-rich plasma for the treatment of refractory jumper’s knee. Int Orthop. 2009 Jul 31.

6. Barrett S, Erredge S. Growth factors for chronic plantar fasciitis. Podiatry Today. 2004;17:37-42.

7. Sánchez M, et al. Application of autologous growth factors on skeletal muscle healing. Proceedings of the 2nd World Congress on Regenerative Medicine. 2005 Leipzig, Germany.