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Short-term benefits achieved with platelet-rich plasma and dry needling for patellar tendinopathy
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Patients with patellar tendinopathy who undergo ultrasound-guided leukocyte-rich platelet-rich plasma injections with dry needling and standardized eccentric exercises have faster short-term improvement compared with patients who undergo ultrasound-guided dry-needling alone, according to results of this study.
“A therapeutic regimen of standardized eccentric exercise and ultrasound-guided leukocyte-rich platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injection with dry needling accelerates the recovery from patellar tendinopathy relative to exercise and ultrasound-guided dry needling alone, but the apparent benefit of PRP dissipates over time,” the researchers wrote in the abstract.
In the randomized controlled trial, there were 12 patients who underwent ultrasound-guided dry needling (DN) alone and 9 patients who underwent ultrasound-guided dry needling with leukocyte-rich PRP injections and standardized therapeutic eccentric exercises.
The patients in the DN group were an average age of 40 years compared to 28 years for patients in the PRP group. Patient gender, height, weight and baseline Victorian Institute of Sports Assessment (VISA) scores were the same in both groups.
At 12 weeks, the average VISA scores in the DN group improved 5.2 points compared to a 25.4-point improvement in the PRP group. At 26 weeks, VISA scores improved by 33.2 points in the DN group and 28.9 points in the PRP group. At 12 weeks, patients in the PRP group showed more significant improvement than patients in the DN group, however, the difference was not significant at 26 weeks or more.
The researchers found no differences in Lysholm scores between groups at 12 weeks, but the DN group improved more than the PRP group at 26 weeks or more. There were no treatment failures in the PRP group and no adverse events in either group. — by Renee Blisard Buddle
Disclosure: The authors received funding for the study from the Stanford University Department of Orthopaedic Surgery.
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