Knee Conditions

Platelet rich plasma may be better than hyaluronic acid injections for knee osteoarthritis

Posted on: May 12th, 2022 by Our Team

Platelet rich plasma is a combination of growth factors that are obtained from a patient’s own blood and injected into sites of pain, such as an arthritic knee or inflamed tendon.   This has been hot area of research in orthopedics and growing in acceptance as a valid, beneficial treatment.

Hyaluronic acid injections

A recent comprehensive study compared the use of hyaluronic acid (gel injections, supartz injections, synvisc injections) with platelet rich plasma.  This paper combined the work of over 26 prior randomized trials into one paper.  The paper showed that while improvement took longer to get started, up to a month or more, the benefit lasted much longer, up to 12 months.  This was a statistically significant benefit.    While Hyaluronic acid injections are commonly used for osteoarthritis, this research gives some evidence that the regenerative medicine approach of platelet rich plasma may have an important role in the treatment of knee osteoarthritis.

We commonly perform platelet rich plasma injections in our office.  If interested we would love to see you and discuss your options with you in detail.  Every patient is different, and your treatment must be tailored to your specific needs.  Find out more today.  Contact us here.

 

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