Comparison of platelet-rich plasma and laser therapy in treatment of chronic lateral epicondylitis

الملخص EN

Background Lateral epicondylitis (LE) is the most frequent cause of chronic lateral elbow pain in adults that represents an encumbrance on social and professional life of patients.

Many treatment modalities that have been used in the management of LE have recently come into question.

Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) and low-level laser therapy (LLLT) have been tried for management of chronic tendinopathies but with some debate about their effectiveness.

Objectives This study compared the effectiveness of local injection of PRP and LLLT in pain reduction and functional improvement in chronic LE.

Patients and methods This randomized double-blinded, prospective study included 104 eligible patients with chronic LE.

Fifty-two patients were treated with local PRP injection and 52 were treated by intermittent LLLT.

They were evaluated at 3 and 6 months for subjective pain using visual analog scale (VAS), functional outcome, and grip strength.

Results Pain was assessed using the subjective VAS which was improved in both PRP and LLLT groups, DASH score and grip strength revealed improvement in both groups.

This improvement was of highly statistical significance in both groups when compared with baseline evaluation (P<0.001).

On comparing the PRP group with the LLLT group, there was significant improvement in VAS at 6 months only, whereas there were significant improvements in functional outcome and grip strength evaluation at 3- and 6-month follow-up for PRP group.

Conclusion Treating patients with LE with PRP injection improves pain and function more effectively compared with LLLT.