Table 5.
Evidence of PRP treatment in Achilles tendinopathy (reported by year of study and grouped by treatment).
| Treatment/ Control |
Reference | Patient number | Main results |
|---|---|---|---|
| PRP | Gaweda et al. [195] | 14 | Lasting improvement of the clinical symptoms and imaging results were obtained; improvement was maintained at least for two years from treatment; low complication rate was reported; US-guided tenotomy, followed by PRP treatment, was safe, effective and associated with US improvement; PRP led to tendon matrix healing; effective also in patients who failed to respond to traditional non operative techniques; retrospective study demonstrated that 78% of PRP-injected patients presented clinical improvement and averted surgical intervention at 6-month follow-up; response was less evident in old subjects |
| Volpi et al. [196] | 15 | ||
| Finoff et al. [197] | 41 | ||
| Deans et al. [198] | 26 | ||
| Ferrero et al. [199] | 30 | ||
| Monto et al. [200] | 30 | ||
| Murawski et al. [201] | 32 | ||
| Guelfi et al. [202] | 73 | ||
| Salini et al. [203] | 44 | ||
| Owens et al. [204] | 10 | Moderate improvement in functional outcome was reported; MRI remained largely unchanged | |
| PRP repeated | Filardo et al. [205] | 27 | Repeated PRP injections produced overall good outcomes, with stable results up to a midterm follow-up; prolonged symptomatology indicated a difficult return to sport |
| PRP/normal saline | de Jonge et al. [206] | 54 | PRP injection in addition to eccentric exercises did not result in clinical and/or ultra-sonographic improvement; tendon diameter increased |
| Krogh et al. [207] | 24 | ||
| LP-PRP/ LR-PRP |
Hanisch et al. [208] | 84 | No significant differences were observed between patients treated with LR-PRP and LP-PRP |
| PRP+HA | Gentile et al. [209] | 10 | Treatment was efficacious for tissue healing and regeneration in post-surgical complications of Achilles tendon |
| PRP+ (ESWT) | Erroi et al. [210] | 45 | Both PRP and ESWT treatments were similarly efficacious and safe in physically active people |
| PRP/surgery+ PRP | Oloff et al. [211] | 26 | Both PRP alone or PRP+ surgical debridement improved clinical outcomes and MRI |
| PRP/eccentric loading | Kearney et al. [212] | 20 | No differences between PRP and eccentric loading program as concerning clinical effectiveness |
| PRP+ eccentric exercise/normal saline+ eccentric exercise | de Vos et al. [213] de Vos et al. [214] |
54 54 |
Patients treated with PRP+ eccentric exercises did not present greater improvement in pain and activity; PRP did not increment tendon structure or modified neovascularization degree |
| PRP/HVI steroid/ normal saline |
Boesen et al. [215] | 60 | Both HVI steroid or PRP seemed efficacious in improving pain and activity and in decreasing tendon thickness and intra-tendinous vascularity |