New study on Lateral Epicondylitis Treated with Platelet-Rich Plasma Injection and Corticosteroid Injection
Lateral epicondylitis, also known as tennis elbow, is an extremely common painful elbow condition that is caused by chronic inflammation of the forearm extensor tendon, affecting the insertion point onto the elbow bone. This is often brought on by repetitive activity, and is a very common painful elbow tendinitis that we see in our elbow pain and injury clinics in Birmingham every day.
Symptoms include pain on the outside of the elbow, pain with wrist extension, and weakened grip strength. Now, along with present and recent research we would like to give you a clear understanding of management and treatment options for chronic and acute cases of elbow tendinitis pain.
Treatment options include rest, activity and lifestyle modification, short-term anti-inflammatory medication use, physical therapy, manual therapy, splinting, shock wave diathermy therapy, injection therapies, and invasive surgery. We can be pleased to say the majority of cases of elbow tendinitis fortunately be managed conservatively. However, more stubborn chronic cases do however need extra assistance. Corticosteroid injection (cortisone) is a commonly used therapy for non loading tendon injuries, but its effects are only short lived. Moreover, repeated injections can weaken tissue add to long-term complications. Ortho-biological treatments, such as platelet-rich plasma (PRP) on the other hand are now frequently becoming more used, particularly with our Birmingham pain clinics. We have now been using PRP therapy for various different types of tendon injuries for over 10 years and very pleased with the fantastic success rates and long-term efficacy. PRP is a natural safe, biological treatment that contains growth factors that help stimulation and facilitation of repair and injury of soft-tissue injuries. Most of the research over the past 15 years demonstrates and confirms how PRP is successful in managing chronic tendon injuries, particularly tennis elbow, long term, whereas corticosteroids provides short-term benefits.
Are you suffering with chronic elbow tendinitis that is not getting better with conservative treatment measures?
Lateral epicondylitis is an inflammatory condition of the forearm extensor tendon and it’s attachment point on the outside of the elbow (epicondyle). This recent September 2024 study compared PRP and corticosteroid injection therapy in treating chronic lateral epicondylitis. It showed that after 4 weeks, corticosteroid provided did provide slightly more improvement. However, after 3 months, and after 6 months, PRP was significantly better in pain reduction and functional outcome.
This study concluded that when comparing to steroid injection in the management of lateral elbow tendinitis, a single administration of autologous PRP offered greater long-term pain benefits and improved functional capabilities of the elbow. The improvements were maintained at 6 months in the PRP group when compared to the steroid group. This identifying improved tendon and soft tissue healing. In the steroid group, the pain and the functional scores started decreasing after 3 months. Hence, a single dose of PRP is recommended in the treatment of natural elbow tendinitis as it gives a better and more sustained outcome both in terms of pain and function.
Overall if you are suffering with chronic tennis elbow, PRP can offer you superior long-term pain relief and functional improvement over corticosteroid injections for treating lateral epicondylitis. Full study can be found below.
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Don’t let joint pain, joint damage, sports injuries or arthritis get in the way of allowing you to do what you want. Schedule a consultation at Dynamic Regenerative Medicine today, and let us treat your condition, provide pain relief and get you back to your full and active lifestyle. We have clinics operating out of Solihull (Henley-In-Arden) and Birmingham (Edgbaston).
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