Comparative evaluation of the efficacy of Platelet Rich Plasma Versus Triamcinolone in Treating Tennis elbow

Abstract

Background: Lateral epicondylitis is seen more commonly in non-athletes than athletes. Non-operative methods are the mainstay of treatment being effective in more than 95% of cases. Platelet rich plasma (PRP) has shown promising results in many studies as compared to steroid injection & other modes of conservative management. Hence, this study was done to compare the efficacy of PRP and triamcinolone injection in tennis elbow. Material &Methods: This randomized study was conducted at our center, for a period of two years from Aug 2015 to Sep 2017 on 60 consenting patients diagnosed as lateral epicondylitis. Patients were randomized into Group –1 (30 patients) receiving 2 ml of PRP injection and group –2 (30 patients) receiving 2 ml of Triamcinolone injection. Post therapy assessment was done using with Oxford elbow score. Results: Average age at presentation was 31.11 year (range 20 to 40). Mean Oxford Elbow Score for both PRP injection group and in triamcinolone group at 6 weeks, 3 month and 6 month improved from pre injection score with p-value less than 0.001, thus stating that both PRP and triamcinolone injections works very well. On comparing PRP with triamcinolone, we found that PRP was slight better than the triamcinolone injection and was better maintained in long term in PRP group. Conclusion: Lateral epicondylitis or Tennis elbow is a painful debilitating condition of elbow, which creates disturbance in functional activities. A single injection of PRP at the site of the elbow pain resulted in relief of pain in patients with longer duration as compared to local steroids to other conservative treatments.