PRP injectionsYour own healing, concentrated.

Platelets are best known for clotting, but they also carry growth factors and other proteins that help regulate inflammation and repair. To make PRP, a small amount of your blood is drawn and spun in a centrifuge to concentrate the platelets. The concentrated plasma is then injected into the painful joint or tendon, usually with ultrasound guidance.

Because PRP comes from your own blood, the risk of an allergic reaction is very low.

• Knee arthritis, especially mild to moderate, when exercise and medication aren't enough.
• Hip arthritis, as part of a non-surgical plan.
• Tendon pain (tendinopathy): outer hip pain from gluteal tendinopathy (often called hip bursitis), tennis elbow, plantar fasciitis and rotator cuff tendinopathy.

PRP works best as part of a plan that includes strengthening and activity changes. When arthritis is advanced and the joint is worn to bone on bone, Dr. Akhtar will talk with you about whether a partial or total knee replacement would serve you better.

• Better than placebo for knee arthritis. A 2025 analysis of 18 randomized trials with 1,995 patients found PRP improved pain and function more than placebo at 1, 3, 6 and 12 months. The function gains were large enough for patients to notice at every time point, and higher-platelet preparations worked best. Bensa A, et al. Am J Sports Med. 2025;53(3):745–754.
• Better than gel shots. Across 18 high-quality randomized trials, knee function scores improved 44.7% with PRP compared with 12.6% with hyaluronic acid. Belk JW, et al. Am J Sports Med. 2021;49(1):249–260.
• Ranked first among knee injections. A network analysis of 48 studies and 9,338 knees ranked PRP the most effective injection for pain and function at six months or longer, ahead of bone marrow concentrate, hyaluronic acid and cortisone. Jawanda H, et al. Arthroscopy. 2024;40(5):1623–1636.
• Longer-lasting than cortisone. PRP outperformed cortisone at 3, 6 and 9 months, and a series of three injections did better than one. McLarnon M, Heron N. BMC Musculoskelet Disord. 2021;22.
• Hip arthritis. In a randomized trial of 111 patients, pain scores at six months were 21 with PRP compared with 44 with hyaluronic acid. Dallari D, et al. Am J Sports Med. 2016;44(3).
• Outer hip tendon pain. At 12 weeks, 82% of patients improved meaningfully after one PRP injection, compared with 57% after a cortisone injection. Fitzpatrick J, et al. Am J Sports Med. 2018;46(4):933–939.
• Tennis elbow. In a 230-patient trial, 83.9% of PRP patients were treatment successes at 24 weeks, compared with 68.3% of controls. Mishra AK, et al. Am J Sports Med. 2014;42(2):463–471.
• Plantar fasciitis. Across 15 studies, PRP reduced heel pain more than cortisone at 3, 6 and 12 months. Hohmann E, Tetsworth K, Glatt V. Am J Sports Med. 2021.
• Staying active longer. In a study of 667 knee arthritis patients treated with PRP, 85.7% had not needed a knee replacement five years later. Sánchez M, et al. Int Orthop. 2021;45(2):401–410.

How PRP is prepared matters, and not every study has found the same benefit. Results depend on your condition, the preparation used and your rehabilitation.

1. Blood draw. A small amount of blood is drawn from your arm.
2. Preparation. The sample is spun in a centrifuge to concentrate the platelets.
3. Injection. After numbing the skin, the PRP is injected into the joint or tendon, usually with ultrasound guidance.

Soreness for several days afterward is common and is part of the healing response. Most patients keep activity light for the first couple of days. Anti-inflammatory medicines such as ibuprofen may blunt the effect of PRP, so you'll be asked to avoid them around the injection. Improvement usually builds over the following weeks.