A new study, conducted by Kunming Medical University in China, has revealed that platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections may be more effective in treating back pain than common conventional treatments.
PRP is a mixture of blood cells (called platelets) and plasma, the liquid component of blood.
Platelets, which help blood clot, contain proteins called growth factors that aid in the healing process. In the treatment of back pain, these proteins appear to stimulate the growth of new healthy cells and tissue.
The research team explained that the process involves spinning a small sample of the patient's blood in a centrifuge to produce a liquid with a concentration of up to 8 times the concentration of platelets in normal blood, which greatly enhances the growth factor content, and then it is injected into the patient.
The therapeutic proteins in the injection are believed to help repair damaged tissue (the source of the pain) in the weeks and months following the injection.
In the recent study, data was pooled from 4 studies involving more than 150 patients with low back pain.
The results, published in the journal Pain Research, showed that 55% of patients reported that their pain was largely gone after four weeks of treatment.
After 6 months of treatment, 80% of patients treated with platelet-rich plasma said their pain was completely gone, compared with 77% of the radiofrequency group, 42% of patients given the common drug lidocaine, and less than 1% of the steroid injection group.
Researchers believe that platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy speeds up tissue repair in the long term and increases the amount of collagen, a fibrous substance that enhances tissue strength.
It is worth noting that more independent studies are needed before PRP can be offered to treat joint pain and back pain.