Abstract

Sports injuries are injuries that occur during sport, athletic activities, or exercising. Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) is derived from autologous blood and prepared so that the platelet concentration is above baseline value. Platelet-rich plasma is currently being used and promoted for many muscle injuries, ligament tears and early arthritis in sports persons and young adults. This case series studied the short-term results of PRP injections in various sports injuries. All patients received three injections one week apart as an out-patient procedure. The Sample for the Study consists of 31 sports persons with injuries. Males were 25 and females were 6. The mean age was 24.7 years. Different injuries were noted in various sports. Type of injury and number of injections and post injection complications were studied Data were collected prospectively with pre-injection Visual analogue scores (VAS) (0 to 10) for pain (VAS pain) were recorded. In addition, as part of the final follow-up questionnaire, two ‘Yes/No’ questions were asked: (i) are you satisfied with the result post injection and (ii) if your symptoms recurred, would you have a repeat injection? The VAS pain improved from a mean of 8.16 (7-9) pre-injection to 1.4 (range 0 to 3) at final follow-up. All patients felt that they were better than they were prior to the injection. All patients would have another injection if their symptoms recurred. Only one patient with patellar tendinitis continued to have pain (VAS 7) even with 3 injections and needed a surgical debridement procedure. He had a severe flat foot which we feel, might have put mechanical overload on the patellar ligament. No severe adverse events or complications related to the injections were observed during the treatment or follow-up period. PRP was harvested and prepared using same commercial device in all these patients. Post-injection, all patients were put on early exercise therapy. Return to sports was allowed only after complete pain relief and function. The short-term results showed good pain relief, early return to sports and function following PRP therapy in various muscle injuries, tendinopathies and grade I arthritis. PRP treatment offers the potential for a safe, convenient, and effective therapeutic option for athletes and other active persons who have musculoskeletal injuries.

Keywords: Platelet-rich plasma; Tendinopathy; Muscle injuries etc