PRP treatment aids healing of elbow injuries say researchers

February 13, 2012

Select individuals appear to return to play quicker

SAN FRANCISCO, CA - As elbow injuries continue to rise, especially in pitchers, procedures to help treat and get players back in the game quickly have been difficult to come by. However, a newer treatment called platelet rich plasma (PRP) may pose hope, according to researchers presenting their findings at the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine's Specialty Day meeting in San Francisco.

"PRP therapy is a very exciting area of research and a number of questions still need to be answered, including optimal concentration, number and timing of injections, the role of white blood cells and the role of ultrasound or image guidance when performing these injections," said lead researcher, Scott A. Crow, MD of the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic in Los Angeles, California. "Despite these questions, this study indicates that in the short term, PRP may be an effective option to successfully treat partial ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) tears in the elbow of athletes."

The researchers followed 17 athletes with a partial UCL tear. All patients had failed conservative treatment, including rest and physical therapy. Baseline questionnaires, including the Kerlan-Jobe Shoulder and Elbow Score (KJOC Score) and Disability of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand Score (DASH Score) were completed for each patient prior to the PRP injection. Each patient underwent a single PRP injection at the ulnar collateral ligament under ultrasound guidance.

At an average follow-up of 18 weeks (range 12-46 weeks), 16 of 17 athletes had returned to play. The average time to return to play was 10 weeks (range 8-12 weeks). The average KJOC Score improved from 47 to 93, p=.0001. The average DASH Score improved from 24 to 3, p=.003. The Sports Module of the DASH questionnaire improved from 74 to 6, p=.0001.

"There is little information in the literature regarding non-surgical treatment of UCL tears. Our results show that PRP may be an option to return players to the field without having to place them under the knife," said Crow.

American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine

---

---

	Fixing You: Shoulder & Elbow Pain: Self-treatment for rotator cuff strain, shoulder impingement, tennis elbow, golfer's elbow, and other diagnoses. by Rick Olderman MSPT (Author) The shoulders are a floating system on the trunk, held in place and moved by muscular control. The foundation of shoulder movement is the shoulder blade which has precise resting and moving landmarks. Fixing You: Shoulder & Elbow Pain teaches you what these landmarks are and how to correct them to fix your shoulder pain. Likewise elbow pain such as tennis elbow also is influenced by the shoulder blade and upper arm bone. This book teaches you, using simple language and plenty of illustrations, how to fix the issues causing pain in both areas. Video clips of all exercises can be found at www.FixingYou.net by entering the code found in the book. This ensures faster results.
	Trigger Point Therapy for Repetitive Strain Injury: Your Self-Treatment Workbook for Elbow, Lower Arm, Wrist, & Hand Pain by Valerie DeLaune LAc (Author), Renee Principe NCTMB (Foreword) Repetitive strain injuries to the shoulder, back, and arm can cause debilitating pain that keeps you from being able to perform even the most basic everyday tasks. Compounding the frustration, it can seem that there’s nothing you can do to ease the discomfort caused by your injury and speed your recovery.Trigger point therapy has helped hundreds of thousands of people recover from repetitive strain injuries of all kinds. Used by massage therapists, physical therapists, and other health care professionals, this powerful technique can dramatically improve the body’s capacity to heal. Trigger Point Therapy for Repetitive Strain Injury helps you find and treat the trigger points in muscle tissue that refer pain to your elbows, lower arms, wrists, or hands. Through simple stretching and...
	Upper Extremity Injuries in Golf (The Physician and Sportsmedicine) by JTE Multimedia Abstract: Golf is an asymmetric sport with unique patterns of injury depending upon the skill level. Higher handicap players typically experience injuries that result from swing mechanics, whereas lower handicap and professional players have overuse as the major cause of their injuries. The majority of shoulder injuries affecting golfers occur in the nondominant shoulder. Common shoulder injuries include subacromial impingement, rotator cuff pathology, glenohumeral instability, and arthritis involving the acromioclavicular and/or glenohumeral joints. Lead arm elbow pain resulting from lateral epicondylosis (tennis elbow) is the leading upper extremity injury in amateur golfers. Tendon injury is the most common problem seen in the wrist and forearm of the golfer. Rehabilitation emphasizing...
	Operative Treatment of Elbow Injuries by Champ L. Jr. Baker (Editor), Kevin D. Plancher (Editor), B.F. Morrey (Editor) Operative Treatment of Elbow Injuries is a complete presentation of all surgical approaches to repair of the elbow, demonstrating the most effective management of elbow injuries and problems. Drs. Plancher and Baker have assembled a group of well-known experts to write on the various procedures. Each contributor for each chapter discusses clinical anatomy, physical exam, nonoperative treatment, indications, contraindications, operative techniques and preferred author technique, results and expectations, and complications. Unique features are a separate section on sports medicine, overuse syndromes, arthroscopy of the elbow, soft tissue injuries, compression syndromes and the "hot" new techniques of distraction arthroplasty, and distraction devices for contracture release. With over 450...
	The Elbow in Sport: Injury, Treatment and Rehabilitation by Todd Ellenbecker (Author), Angelo Mattalino (Author) This is the first book to focus on overuse elbow injuries, giving sports medicine and rehabilitation professionals the information they need to evaluate, treat, and rehabilitate the athletic elbow.Authors Todd Ellenbecker and Angelo Mattalino, both highly respected sports medicine specialists, share their experience from years of treating elbow injuries in professional athletes. In The Elbow in Sport, they present a comprehensive approach that focuses on treating the elbow as part of a total arm strength rehabilitative program.The Elbow in Sport provides a thorough understanding of elbow injuries and describes specific rehabilitation methods to treat the five most common overuse elbow injuries:-Humeral (lateral and medial) epicondylitis-Osteochondral injury (osteophytes/loose...
	Sports Injuries of the Elbow and Hand, An Issue of Hand Clinics, 1e (The Clinics: Orthopedics) by William B. Geissler MD (Author) Athletic injuries of the upper extremity are on a rise for numerous reasons. The incidents of "weekend warrior” injuries continue to grow due to the baby boomers generation ideology of staying fit. In addition, young athletes participate in sports activities year round with some athletes participating in a single sport for the entire year, frequently overloading their upper extremity without time to recuperate. Athletic injuries are not confined just to the hand and wrist, but involve the entire upper extremity. This edition of Hand Clinics concentrates on athletic injuries of the hand, wrist, and elbow. Recognized leaders from across the country were asked to contribute their expertise in the management of athletic injuries to the upper extremity. Both open and arthroscopic...
	Core Knowledge in Orthopaedics: Hand, Elbow, and Shoulder by Thomas Trumble (Author), Roger Cornwall (Author), Jeffrey Budoff (Author) This book is part of the series Core Knowledge in Orthopaedics, designed to meet needs expressed by residents for a relatively brief, affordable reference that will enable them to quickly grasp the key concepts and core knowledge needed on each major service within an orthopaedics training program. Brief outlines present need-to-know information and up-to-date content, reflecting the core knowledge involved in techniques used to reconstruct, repair and regenerate bone, soft tissue, nerves, tendons, and more! The field of hand surgery was identified as the area in which residents felt the greatest need for a concise volume that would guide them through their clinical service. The title in the series provides concise, clinically practical coverage of the broad range of disorders of the hand...
	Advanced Reconstruction Elbow by Ken (Author), M.d. Yamaguchi (Author), Ken (Editor), M.d. Yamaguchi (Editor), Graham J. W. (Editor), M.d. King (Editor), Michael D. (Editor), M.D. McKee (Editor), Shawn W. (Editor), M.d. O'driscoll (Editor) "Advanced Reconstruction - Elbow" takes you deep into the complicated cases that define your practice. The world's finest orthopaedic elbow specialists present step-by-step treatment advice and surgical approaches to help you manage some of the toughest elbow cases you'll see. Developed in collaboration with the American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons, this new publication focuses exclusively on the elbow. This book brings together years of solid surgical experience to help you meet the challenges of the O.R. Find exactly what you need to address nearly 60 complex elbow conditions - each in a few short pages! Each chapter illustrates the most effective tools and approaches to solve a complex surgical problem and avoid potential pitfalls.
	Overuse Injuries in Youth Sports (The Physician and Sportsmedicine) by JTE Multimedia Although youth sports participation is beneficial on many levels, it is also associated with an increased risk of injury. Risk factors for injury in children and adolescents include the presence of growth cartilage, existence of muscle imbalance, and pressure to compete despite pain and fatigue. Overuse injuries, such as patellofemoral pain, Osgood-Schlatter disease, calcaneal apophysitis, Little League elbow, Little League shoulder, spondylolysis, and osteochondritis dissecans, are common injuries in organized sports. However, proper education, supervision, and training can help reduce the risk of these injuries and facilitate early intervention.
	Tennis Injury Handbook: Professional Advice for Amateur Athletes by Allan M. Levy (Author), Mark L. Fuerst (Author) "A very comprehensive and well-written book about the most common tennis injuries. I certainly wish something like this had been available 25 years ago."--Fred Stolle, member of the International Tennis Hall of Fame. "Maintaining fitness is a high priority for people of all ages, especially those of us addicted to tennis. This book can help you improve not only your game but your quality of life as well."--David N. Dinkins, USTA and USPTR Board Member and former mayor of New York City. "It would be hard to find a more comprehensive or comprehensible guide to preparing for tennis play, not to mention preventing and treating tennis injuries. Every tennis player--beginning, intermediate, and advanced--could benefit from Dr. Levy's and Mark Fuerst's efforts."--Shimon-Craig Van...