\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of placebo effect,\u201d says Dr. Joan Von Feldt, a past president of the American College of Rheumatology. \u201cAnd PRP is not reimbursed by insurance, which should be a big red flag.\u201d<\/p>\n
In part, the reluctance to give PRP a full-throated endorsement is due to the inconsistency of study results. A randomized clinical trial published in JAMA in 2021 found that PRP injections did not significantly improve knee osteoarthritis symptoms after 12 months. But in 2025, a study published in The American Journal of Sports Medicine determined that PRP injections to the knee provided clinically significant pain relief, though the study’s authors also called out the lack of standardization in PRP protocols.<\/p>\n
Variations in preparation methods, metrics, data collection and equipment could account for some of the inconsistency. Because PRP is made from the body\u2019s own blood, its quality is also variable.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour blood may have 200 platelets, while someone else\u2019s blood may have 20,000 platelets,\u201d says Dr. Bert Mandelbaum, an orthopedic sports surgeon and codirector of the Regenerative Orthobiologics Center at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles. Platelet density can fluctuate from day to day, depending on hormones, exercise<\/a> and foods eaten, among other factors.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I prepare my patients, I tell them their own blood is their medicine, so they need to boost it as best they can,\u201d says Dr. Alice Chen, a spine physiatrist with the Hospital for Special Surgery in Stamford, Connecticut. \u201cI recommend they avoid toxins, alcohol<\/a> and smoking for at least two weeks beforehand. I tell them to eat an antioxidant-rich diet<\/a> and to reduce or eliminate sugar.\u201d<\/p>\n Still, the results are hard to predict. \u201cSome people improve dramatically, and some don\u2019t,\u201d says Patel. \u201cIt\u2019s not a magic wand that cures everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n And the procedure can be expensive as well as unreliable. A number of factors can affect cost, but a single procedure is roughly $500 to $2,500, with patients often returning for more treatments.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s important for the physician and patient to have a realistic discussion on what the outcome may be,\u201d says Dr. Brennan Boettcher, a sports medicine physician at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. \u201cSome people don\u2019t like paying out of pocket for something that may not help them.\u201d<\/p>\n How PRP is being used<\/p>\n Although PRP therapy is considered investigational, here are some of the conditions that doctors have commonly treated with it and what research says about the results.<\/p>\n 1. Arthritic knees, torn tendons, injured ligaments<\/p>\n Despite recommendations against using PRP for osteoarthritis, some of the most promising results from PRP injections have come from their use for musculoskeletal conditions, primarily osteoarthritis of the knees; injuries to tendons and ligaments; and tennis or golfer\u2019s elbow. Older patients often try them as a way to stave off knee replacement surgery.<\/a><\/p>\n Still, physicians who administer PRP stress that the results can be mixed and that there is no guarantee it will work.<\/p>\n