Use of Autologous Platelet-rich Plasma to Treat Muscle Strain Injuries

Abstract

Background Muscle strains are one of the most common injuries treated by physicians. Standard conservative therapy for acute muscle strains usually involves short-term rest, ice, and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications, but there is no clear consensus on how to accelerate recovery. Hypothesis Local delivery of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) to injured muscles hastens recovery of function. Study Design Controlled laboratory study. We used an established animal model of injury to test the effects of autologous platelet-rich plasma PRP on recovery of contractile function. Methods In vivo, the tibialis anterior muscles (TA) of anesthetized Sprague-Dawley rats were injured by a single (large strain) lengthening contraction or multiple (small strain) lengthening contractions, both of which result in a significant injury. The TA was injected with either PRP, PPP (platelet-poor plasma, as a sham treatment), or received no treatment. Results Both injury protocols yield a similar loss of force. The PRP only had a beneficial effect at one time point after the single contraction injury protocol. However, PRP had a beneficial effect at several time points after the multiple contraction injury protocol, and resulted in a faster recovery time to full contractile function. The sham injections had no effect compared to no treatment. Conclusion Local delivery of PRP can shorten recovery time after a muscle strain injury. Recovery of muscle from the high repetition protocol has already been shown to require myogenesis, whereas recovery from a single strain does not. This difference in mechanism of recovery may explain why PRP was more effective in the high repetition protocol, as PRP is rich in growth factors that can stimulate myogenesis. Since autologous blood products are safe, PRP may be a useful product to use in clinical treatment of muscle injuries.

Evaluation and Imaging of an Untreated Grade III Hamstring Tear: A Case Report

“…Standard nonoperative therapy for acute muscle injuries usually involves rest, ice, compression, and elevation (RICE). Although experimental therapies such as platelet-rich plasma [15], suramin [6], and other such agents [14,30,42] are being tested, there is no clear consensus on nonoperative treatment of muscle injuries beyond the principle of short-term rest and ice.…”

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“…Delos et al found no difference in muscle strength at any time point and no difference in the number centronucleated fibers or inflammatory cells compared to control rodents injected with saline [42]. Hammond et al found no difference in strength for single muscle contraction injuries treated with PRP [43]. However, they did show increased muscle regeneration, improved contractile function of multiple muscle contraction injured muscles, and decreased recovery time from 21 to 14 days compared to controls.…”

Platelet-rich plasma for muscle injuries: game over or time out?

“…Hammond et al studied the effects of PRP on the recovery of contractile function in Sprague-Dawley rats injured by a single large strain or multiple small strain lengthening contractions of the tibialis anterior muscles (TA) [23]. The high repetition model demonstrated significant improvements in measures of satellite cell activation and quantification of myogenesis in PRP vs. control groups that peaked at 2 weeks.…”