Use of Platelet-Poor Plasma in Acute Quadriceps Muscle Strain in a Division I Football Placekicker: A Case Report

Platelet-Poor versus Platelet-Rich Plasma for the Treatment of Muscle Injuries

“…One paper evaluated PRP versus PPP, as a comparison intervention for hamstring injury (19). One published case report on the utilization of PPP was identified (23).…”

“…The first case report identified in the published literature utilized PPP to treat a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-confirmed acute quadriceps grade II strain in a division I football kicker. Within 1 month of injection, the athlete was clinically asymptomatic, with resolving injury on MRI (23). This injury in kickers has been observed in sideline kickers in the National Football League for an average of 36 d, with a range from 1 to 211 d (45).…”

“…While the mechanisms at this point are not completely understood, PRP formulations have been shown in basic science studies to preferentially cause myoblast proliferation (22). As previously mentioned, identified components of PRP have been shown to be detrimental to muscle recovery in cellbased study (23,34,44). The review of clinical data on PRP in muscle injury revealed mixed data on the benefit of PRP injections; however, the higher-quality, randomized controlled studies consistently found a nonsignificant impact on the RTP period and pain.…”

“…There have been both cellular and clinical studies that have indicated that PRP may not be the ideal injectate for muscle injury, including double-blinded randomized human clinical trials (19)(20)(21)(22). In recent years, a growing body of basic science, case reports, and retrospective cohorts has built the case for utilizing platelet-poor plasma (PPP) for muscle injury (22)(23)(24). The goal of this review and case series is to examine the current literature on the utility of PRP and PPP for muscle pathology and to highlight future directions for the study and clinical use of autologous blood products for muscle injuries.…”