# PRP results differ by joint, tendon, and cause

*Does PRP Work for Joints and Tendons? | PRP Clinic Gilbert*

> Does PRP work? This prp clinic Gilbert page gives plain answers for knee, hip, elbow, shoulder, and tendon soreness.

Does platelet-rich plasma, or PRP, work? Some people report less soreness or easier movement, while others notice little change. A spinning machine separates your blood; clinic staff then collect a platelet-heavy layer. Platelets are small cells that collect around a wound and help stop bleeding.

PRP isn't a sure fix. Results differ by body part and cause.

## Knee findings remain mixed

Some knee studies found less pain or easier movement after PRP. In one careful study, PRP worked no better than a salt-water procedure. Researchers use salt water for comparison because it has no PRP in it. Those different findings are why the knee evidence remains mixed.

Knee soreness may include swelling, stiffness, or trouble on stairs. Home care often starts with steady strength exercises and movement you can repeat without sharply raising the ache. A brace or medicine may help after a doctor checks the risks.

PRP may be discussed when basic care hasn't eased the knee enough.

## Tendon results depend on the injury

A worn tendon differs from one torn during a sudden injury. Some studies found less soreness after PRP for long-lasting outer-elbow and side-of-hip problems. A study of a new tear in the tendon at the back of the ankle found no clear relief from PRP.

An exam must locate the pain before care is chosen. Pain near a tendon may begin in the joint or a nearby nerve. Sudden weakness after a pop raises more concern than pain that built over months.

How the tendon was hurt can affect whether the doctor suggests PRP.

## Shoulder soreness needs its own exam

Shoulder soreness can make dressing, sleep, and overhead work hard. The pain may begin in a tendon, the joint, or both. A doctor checks where motion stops and whether the arm has lost strength.

One study tested PRP used during shoulder surgery. PRP didn't improve shoulder use or reduce repeat tears in that study. The study doesn't answer whether PRP may help without surgery.

A shoulder exam matters because knee results can't settle a shoulder question.

## Lasting soreness is the time to review choices

Keep notes on what hurts, what helps, and how far the joint moves. Plain details give the doctor more to use than a guess. Have medicine names and records from earlier care ready.

The visit may lead to physical therapy, more home care, a brace, medicine, surgery, or PRP. The exam shows which care fits the sore tissue. It also gives you a chance to ask what relief is realistic.

When an ache won't settle, a careful exam is the useful next step.

## Sources

1. A Bayesian network meta-analysis of nine studies (six RCTs, 1055 patients) found leukocyte-POOR PRP produced significantly better WOMAC scores than hyaluronic acid (mean difference -21.14; 95% CI -39.63 to -2.65) and than placebo (-17.84; 95% CI -34.95 to -0.73), while leukocyte-RICH PRP showed no such significant difference versus placebo. PRP of either type caused more local adverse reactions than hyaluronic acid (OR 5.63; 95% CI 1.38-22.90), almost always local swelling and pain, with no difference in safety between the two PRP types.
   Riboh JC, Saltzman BM, Yanke AB, et al. — [Effect of Leukocyte Concentration on the Efficacy of Platelet-Rich Plasma in the Treatment of Knee Osteoarthritis](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25925602/). *American Journal of Sports Medicine*, 2016. DOI: 10.1177/0363546515580787.
2. A scoping review of PRP for knee and hip osteoarthritis reported that PRP for knee OA gives clinically comparable or superior outcomes to other injection treatments, that the evidence in HIP osteoarthritis is far less consistent, and that evidence is lacking to show the presence of leukocytes significantly influences clinical outcomes. It named leukocyte concentration, OA grade and formulation comparability as the open questions.
   Tanguilig G, Dhillon J, Kraeutler MJ, et al. — [Platelet-Rich Plasma for Knee and Hip Osteoarthritis Pain: A Scoping Review](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39002073/). *Current Reviews in Musculoskeletal Medicine*, 2024. DOI: 10.1007/s12178-024-09916-9.
3. In the RESTORE trial - the largest placebo-controlled PRP trial in knee osteoarthritis - 288 adults aged 50+ with symptomatic Kellgren-Lawrence grade 2-3 medial knee OA received three weekly intra-articular injections of leukocyte-poor PRP from a commercial system or saline placebo. At 12 months the mean change in knee pain was -2.1 points with PRP versus -1.8 with saline (difference -0.4; 95% CI -0.9 to 0.2; P=.17) against a minimum clinically important difference of 1.8, and the change in medial tibial cartilage volume was -1.4% versus -1.2% (difference -0.2%; 95% CI -1.9% to 1.5%; P=.81). Twenty-nine of 31 prespecified secondary outcomes showed no significant between-group difference. The authors concluded the findings do not support use of PRP for knee OA.
   Bennell KL, Paterson KL, Metcalf BR, et al. — [Effect of Intra-articular Platelet-Rich Plasma vs Placebo Injection on Pain and Medial Tibial Cartilage Volume in Patients With Knee Osteoarthritis: The RESTORE Randomized Clinical Trial](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34812863/). *JAMA*, 2021. DOI: 10.1001/jama.2021.19415.
4. A meta-analysis of 18 Level I randomized trials (811 patients receiving PRP, 797 receiving hyaluronic acid, mean follow-up 11.1 months) found mean improvement in total WOMAC scores was significantly higher with PRP (44.7%) than with hyaluronic acid (12.6%) (P<.01), and 6 of 11 VAS-reporting studies found significantly less pain with PRP at latest follow-up.
   Belk JW, Kraeutler MJ, Houck DA, et al. — [Platelet-Rich Plasma Versus Hyaluronic Acid for Knee Osteoarthritis: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32302218/). *American Journal of Sports Medicine*, 2021. DOI: 10.1177/0363546520909397.
5. A systematic review of 26 studies of PRP for lateral epicondylitis assessed against minimal clinically important difference thresholds rather than statistical significance found the mean improvement exceeded the MCID from week 4 through week 104 for VAS and DASH, and from weeks 4-52 for the Mayo score. Both leukocyte-rich and leukocyte-poor systems met the MCID at almost every observation point.
   Niemiec P, Szyluk K, Jarosz A, et al. — [Effectiveness of Platelet-Rich Plasma for Lateral Epicondylitis: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis Based on Achievement of Minimal Clinically Important Difference](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35425843/). *Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine*, 2022. DOI: 10.1177/23259671221086920.
6. Two-year follow-up of the same 80-patient gluteal tendinopathy trial found the single leukocyte-RICH PRP injection produced improvement that was sustained at 104 weeks (mHHS 53.77 at baseline to 82.59 at two years; P<.0001), whereas the corticosteroid improvement peaked at six weeks and was not maintained beyond 24 weeks. This is one of the clearest demonstrations that leukocyte-rich PRP is the formulation with evidence in TENDON, not in cartilage.
   Fitzpatrick J, Bulsara MK, O'Donnell J, et al. — [Leucocyte-Rich Platelet-Rich Plasma Treatment of Gluteus Medius and Minimus Tendinopathy: A Double-Blind Randomized Controlled Trial With 2-Year Follow-up](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30840831/). *American Journal of Sports Medicine*, 2019. DOI: 10.1177/0363546519826969.
7. A three-arm randomized controlled trial added leukocyte-rich PRP, leukocyte-poor PRP or nothing to arthroscopic rotator cuff repair. At 12 months there were no significant differences between the three groups in functional scores, overall retear rate (8% across the study) or complications; LR-PRP showed better ASES scores than control at 3 and 6 months only, and the authors described its clinical benefit as remaining to be proven.
   Yao L, Pang L, Zhang C, et al. — [Platelet-Rich Plasma for Arthroscopic Rotator Cuff Repair: A 3-Arm Randomized Controlled Trial](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39425250/). *American Journal of Sports Medicine*, 2024. DOI: 10.1177/03635465241283964.
8. PATH-2 randomised 230 adults with acute Achilles tendon rupture managed non-surgically to PRP or a placebo dry-needle injection across 19 UK hospitals, with a central laboratory confirming the PRP was of good quality with the expected growth-factor content. At 24 weeks there was no detectable difference in muscle-tendon function (limb symmetry index 34.7% versus 38.5%; adjusted mean difference -3.9%; 95% CI -10.5% to 2.7%) or in any secondary outcome or adverse-event rate.
   Keene DJ, Alsousou J, Harrison P, et al. — [Platelet rich plasma injection for acute Achilles tendon rupture: PATH-2 randomised, placebo controlled, superiority trial](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31748208/). *BMJ*, 2019. DOI: 10.1136/bmj.l6132.
9. The devices used to spin PRP at the point of care are cleared by FDA as clinical centrifuges, product code JQC, a Class I device under 21 CFR 862.2050 - for example the Biomet GPS Platelet Separation Kit (K030555, cleared 2003) and the Harvest SmartPrep2 / SmartPrep Platelet Concentration System (K103340, cleared 2010). That clearance covers the equipment that separates blood. It is not an FDA approval of platelet-rich plasma as a treatment for osteoarthritis, tendinopathy or any other orthopedic condition, and copy must never blur the two.
   U.S. Food and Drug Administration (Center for Devices and Radiological Health) — [510(k) Premarket Notification database and Product Classification: JQC, Centrifuges (Micro, Ultra, Refrigerated) For Clinical Use, 21 CFR 862.2050](https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfPCD/classification.cfm?ID=JQC). *FDA accessdata (CDRH device databases)*, 2003.
10. The 2019 ACR/Arthritis Foundation osteoarthritis guideline makes STRONG recommendations for exercise, weight loss in people with overweight or obesity, self-management programmes, tai chi, cane use, tibiofemoral bracing, topical and oral NSAIDs and intra-articular glucocorticoid injections for knee OA. Its conditional recommendations cover balance exercises, yoga, CBT, acupuncture, thermal modalities, radiofrequency ablation, acetaminophen, duloxetine and tramadol. Anything offered before a course of the strongly recommended options is being offered out of order.
   Kolasinski SL, Neogi T, Hochberg MC, et al. — [2019 American College of Rheumatology/Arthritis Foundation Guideline for the Management of Osteoarthritis of the Hand, Hip, and Knee](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31908163/). *Arthritis & Rheumatology*, 2020. DOI: 10.1002/art.41142.
11. The ESSKA-ICRS consensus applied the RAND/UCLA appropriateness method to 216 clinical scenarios for intra-articular PRP in knee OA. Only 84 scenarios (38.9%) were rated appropriate, 9 (4.2%) inappropriate and 123 (56.9%) uncertain. PRP was judged appropriate in patients aged 80 or under with KL grade 0-III osteoarthritis AFTER failed conservative non-injective or injective treatment; it was NOT considered appropriate as a first treatment, nor in KL grade IV (bone-on-bone) osteoarthritis, where 91.7% and 87.5% of scenarios respectively were uncertain.
   Kon E, de Girolamo L, Laver L, et al. — [Platelet-rich plasma injections for the management of knee osteoarthritis: The ESSKA-ICRS consensus. Recommendations using the RAND/UCLA appropriateness method for different clinical scenarios](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38961773/). *Knee Surgery, Sports Traumatology, Arthroscopy*, 2024. DOI: 10.1002/ksa.12320.

## If the soreness doesn't settle, call the clinic

At QC Kinetix (Chandler), medical providers are trained clinic staff who examine the sore area. They can review regenerative treatments with you, meaning non-surgical procedures carried out in the office. One option is PRP, which begins with a blood draw from you.

Have medicine names ready and name the sore spot. Ask which care fits the exam and what it costs. Also ask what comes after PRP if soreness remains. One number reaches the clinic: (602) 837-PAIN.

Book a free consultation: <https://prp.qckaz.com/?src=prpclinicgilbert.com>

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Clear answers for a joint that still hurts.

Straight answers about sore joints, PRP, home care, warning signs, cost, and the nearest clinic for Gilbert residents.

Plain information for Gilbert residents who want help with lasting soreness in a joint or tendon.

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Copyright 2026 Gilbert PRP Field Guide. General education only; a qualified clinician must assess an individual diagnosis, history and urgent symptoms.