Application of growth factors in the treatment of musculotendinous injuries: Solution or Illusion?
Ana Ferrão
Background: Muscle and tendon injuries are very common in athletes and there is an intensive research to find new treatments that allow an earlier recovery. This justifies the interest in therapies with growth factors, with the aim of accelerate the tissue healing. The platelet-rich plasma (or plasma rich in growth factors) is a fraction of autologous blood obtained by centrifugation, with a platelet concentration higher than the physiological. The aim of this review is to evaluate the clinical and/or imaging outcomes of this therapy in the treatment of the most frequent tendinopathies (patellar, Achilles, rotator cuff and elbow tendinopathies) and in muscle injuries. We also intend to analyze the potential side effects and the possible influence of external factors.
download
Material and Methods: We included 62 articles between 2004 and 2012 on platelet-rich plasma or on its application in muscle and/or tendon injuries.
Results: Platelet-rich plasma is effective in treating epicondylosis and patellar tendinopathies, but the same doesn’t happen in chronic Achilles tendinopathies. In the rotator cuff, this application also does not seem to be very beneficial, just having some impact in reducing the pain and in the prevention of postoperative recurrence. In muscle injuries, the few studies found seem to confirm a positive effect of this therapy.
Discussion and Conclusion: It’s possible that the different outcomes observed are due to the non- standardization of platelet-rich plasma preparation and application protocols. In future studies these parameters need to be standardized in order to maximize the therapeutic effect.
download
