Tennis elbow: Blood and platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections

Abstract

Lateral epicondylitis is a common musculoskeletal problem that lacks a reliable therapy with consistent results. For the difficult cohort of patients that remain symptomatic despite conservative treatments, injections offer an important minimally invasive option prior to surgery. The use of blood-based injections for cases of tendinopathy has gained popularity in orthopedics. Both autologous blood and platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections have been used for lateral epicondylitis, with the theory that injections provide the body’s own growth factors to a potentially hypovascular site of injury. As compared to autologous blood, PRP injections deliver an increased concentration of growth factors at the expense of increased time, equipment, and cost for each treatment.