Platelet rich plasma intra-articular injections: a new therapeutic strategy for the treatment of knee osteoarthritis in sport rehabilitation. A systematic review

Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common joint disease and the prevalence of knee OA among athletes is higher than in the general population, especially after injury or in association with high-impact sport. We evaluated the clinical evidence and the persistence of the beneficial effects of intraarticular injections of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) in patients affected by knee OA. A systematic computerized literature search of following databases was conducted: PubMed, Medline, Cochrane, CINAHL, Embase, SportDiscus, Pedro and Google scholar. PRP has been shown to be an effective and well-tolerated treatment option in OA, with greater and longer effects in young men with a low degree of cartilage degeneration. The role of growth factors and inflammatory mediators in the pathophysiology of OA suggest that PRP may be useful in the early stages to modulate inflammatory processes. Although current studies are encouraging, more data and long-term follow-up are required before PRP can be recommended in the treatment of OA. Future PRP research should involve questions regarding the mechanism of actions, formulation, and number and timing of injections to better identify patient selection criteria.