Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) One Treatment Option for Hip Pain and Iliotibial Band Syndrome
What is it? Iliotibial band syndrome is inflammation of the Iliotibial band on the outside of the knee as it rubs against the outside of the knee joint. Iliotibial band syndrome (ITBS) is one of the most common causes of hip and/or knee pain among athletes.
Symptoms of ITBS. Symptoms include pain over the outside of the knee which will come on gradually over time getting progressively worse until running must stop. Typically the athlete will rest for a period of time until symptoms go only for them to return so far into a run when training resumes. The pain is caused from swelling or inflammation of a muscle group, the tendons that attach muscles to the knee or hip, and/or the bursa that surrounds the attachments at the hip and/or knee.
What is the clinical presentation? Typically, ITBS presents with a history of pain with activity (walking, running, cycling, etc.), with soreness at the outside of the knee just above the joint. Pain can radiate up or down and include the hip and/or ankle. Climbing steps and running downhill are common irritating activities. Rest can help alleviate symptoms in the short term but isn’t a long-term remedy.
Regenerative Medicine Techniques to treat ITBS – There are various regenerative medicine techniques that are used to heal ligaments and joints. The use of platelet-rich plasma is one such therapy. Platelets are not just for clotting, immune response, or angiogenesis. Four percent of blood volume is platelets. They are the first cells to arrive at the injury site, they initiate the healing cascade, and – importantly – they contain the growth factors required for collagen regeneration.23 Put simply, instead of stimulating an inflammatory healing cascade to bring platelets and growth factors to the site of injury, with PRP the platelets are extracted from whole blood via a variety of centrifuge methods, and injected in high concentrations directly into the target sites. The result is an enhanced healing response, with less discomfort and fewer treatments.
