Effectiveness of Platelet-rich Plasma in Knee Osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis is a degenerative condition which is characterized by joint pain, tenderness, stiffness, swelling, restricted movement and joint deformities decreased range of motion. In recent years, an increasing number of patients are being diagnosed with osteoarthritis, which has a notable impact on human health and quality of life. The causes of osteoarthritis are very complex, and the pathogenesis of this disease is not well understood. Osteoarthritis is divided into two categories i.e primary and secondary osteoarthritis according to the presence of local and systemic risk factors. Knee osteoarthritis is a degenerative disease which may develop due to ageing, obesity, strain, congenital abnormal joints, joint deformity or trauma. Etiology is multifactorial, such as degradation of articular cartilage injury, joint edge and subchondral bone hyperplasia of reactivity. Positive results have been uniformly found by various researchers for the use of plateletrich plasma (PRP) in early osteoarthritis (OA) knee in the past few years. Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is a concentrate of autologous blood growth factors which show some symptomatic relief in early osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee. Prolonged and sustained release of growth factors from platelets could possibly help in much better biological healing in body and sustained clinical effects. This article intends to discuss the role of the PRP and ideas for improvising PRP in early OA knees based on available evidence.