Pain and activity levels before and after platelet-rich plasma injection treatment of patellar tendinopathy: a prospective cohort study and the influence of previous treatments

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the outcome of patients with patellar tendinopathy treated with platelet-rich plasma injections (PRP). Additionally, this study examined whether certain characteristics, such as activity level or previous treatment affected the results. METHODS: Patients (n = 36) were asked to fill in the Victorian Institute of Sports Assessment – Patellar questionnaire (VISA-P) and visual analogue scales (VAS), assessing pain in activities of daily life (ADL), during work and sports, before and after treatment with PRP. Of these patients, 14 had been treated before with cortisone, ethoxysclerol, and/or surgical treatment (group 1), while the remaining patients had not been treated before (group 2). RESULTS: Overall, group 1 and group 2 improved significantly on the VAS scales (p < .0.05). However, group 2 also improved on VISA-P (p = .0.003), while group 1 showed less healing potential (p = 0.060). Although the difference between group 1 and group 2 at follow-up was not considered clinically meaningful, over time both groups showed a clinically significant improvement. CONCLUSION: After PRP treatment, patients with patellar tendinopathy showed a statistically significant improvement. In addition, these improvements can also be considered clinically meaningful. However, patients who were not treated before with ethoxysclerol, cortisone, and/or surgical treatment showed the improvement.