ABSTRACT
Background: Tennis elbow is a common condition causing discomfort and pain on the lateral aspect of the elbow especially during gripping activities
Objective: To compare the treatment with injection Platelets Rich Plasma and injection corticosteroid for tennis elbow in terms of symptoms relief. Methodology: This randomized controlled study was conducted in the Department of Orthopedics and Spine Unit, Hayatabad Medical Complex, Peshawar from 27th July 2016 to 26th July 2017. A total of 52 cases of tennis elbow were selected in OPD and randomly allocated in two groups to receive corticosteroids [Group A] and Platelets Rich Plasma [PRP] [Group B] and followed up to determine the effectiveness of either intervention. All information was recorded on a proforma. Pain intensity was recorded using VAS after three weeks postoperatively. Data analysis was done using SPSS 16 version
Results: A total of 52 patients with tennis elbow were selected and divided in two equal groups. There were 11 male and 15 females in steroid [group A] and 12 male and 14 female patients in PRP [group B]. In group A, the mean baseline VAS was 6.5 +/- 1.2 and in group B it was 6.7 +/- 1.4 but the difference was statistically not significant with a p-value of 0.71. All patients were subjected to standard therapy as per their allocated groups and were again assessed on 3 weeks follow up. On follow up, the mean pain scores using Visual Analogue Scale in group A was 4.19 +/- 2.6 and in group B was 3.42 +/- 2.61. We observed that of the overall sample of 52, the improvement was observed in 71 % of patients. Group A showed effectiveness in 54 % of patients and group B showed effectiveness in 88 % of patients. This difference was statistically significant having a p value of 0.001
Conclusion: Platelets Rich Plasma [PRP] is an effective alternative to corticosteroid in the treatment of tennis elbow