Role of Ultrasound Guided Platelet Rich Plasma Therapy for Isolated Supraspinatus Tendinopathy

Abstract

Background: Rotator cuff (RC) injuries are not so uncommon a cause of disability among the population. The RC stabilizes the shoulder, a highly unstable joint owing to great mobility. Supraspinatus (SS) is one of the RC tendons undergoing damage ranging from mild tendinosis to complete tear due to degeneration, trauma, or other causes. Supraspinatus tears (STs) have been classically treated conservatively with physical and pharmacotherapy and later on with the help of surgical repair. Non-surgical treatment with biologics like platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy has been tried with positive results but with limited data. We aim to identify the role of PRP therapy in patients with symptomatic supraspinatus tendinopathy (STP) for improving the range of motion as well as reducing the pain and physical disability.Methods: This study was done on fifty symptomatic STP patients who failed medical and physical therapy for at least three months. The improvement in the pain score following two sittings of PRP therapy was evaluated with numerical rating scale (NRS). The improvement of the function of shoulder joint movements for daily activities was assessed with the modified University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA) shoulder score. Moreover, NRS, tear size (TS, assessed with ultrasound), Constant Shoulder Score (CSS), and modified UCLA shoulder score were recorded at baseline, and subsequently at 1-month, 3-months, and 6-months following the second sitting of the PRP therapy.Results: At baseline, the CSS was 36.42±5.12, and was 61.58±6.35, 81.22±6.23, and 87±3.9 at 1-month, 3-months, and 6-months follow-up, respectively. The NRS was 8.18±0.96 before the procedure and 4.26±0.8, 2.02±0.62, 1.84±0.51 at 1-month, 3-months, and 6-months follow-up, respectively. The mean TS pre-procedure was 3.12±0.89, and a significant decrease in TS was seen at 1-month (2.87±0.88), 3-months (2.44±0.79), and 6-months (2.17±0.76). Modified UCLA score was 16.86±3.49 at baseline which improved to 24.66±3.17 at 1-month, 31.64±2.69 at 3-months, and 32.5±1.67 at 6-months.Conclusion: PRP results in healing of the torn SS tendon. It also reduces pain score, improve range of motion and quality of life of the patients.