Short answerNo. Two trials, one of them large, found that platelet-rich plasma did no better than a sham or placebo injection.
Evidence grade
Does not helpNot enough evidenceHelps a littleGood evidence
Probably does not help
What it is
Chronic Achilles tendinopathy causes pain and swelling in the middle of the Achilles tendon, which can limit walking and sport. Platelet-rich plasma, or PRP, is made by spinning a sample of your own blood to concentrate the platelets. It is then injected into the tendon in the hope of encouraging repair.
What the research shows
enrolled 240 adults at 24 UK hospitals who had Achilles pain for over three months. Half had a PRP injection. Half had a sham injection, in which a dry needle was placed under the skin but not into the tendon. At six months, the tendon score was 54 in the PRP group and 53 in the sham group on a 100 point scale. After adjustment, the difference was about 3 points in favour of sham, with a range from 9 points worse to 3 points better. The authors said this range excluded a difference that would matter to patients.
of 54 people compared PRP with a saline injection, and everyone did an exercise program. Scores improved by about 22 points with PRP and about 21 points with saline, which was not a significant difference.
Risks and effort
Mild discomfort at the injection site was more common with PRP, in 82 in 100 people at two weeks against 61 in 100 with the sham. One person in the PRP group had severe pain after the injection and later had surgery on the tendon.
