I heard about the new blood injection therapy for knee arthritis and asked my doctor about it. He said, “Never be the first or the last” (to try some new treatment). I’d still like to consider trying this new therapy. What do you recommend?

Platelet-rich plasma (PRP), also known as blood injection therapy, continues to be investigated by researchers. They are looking for a way to control painful symptoms from knee osteoarthritis. Efforts to regenerate lost joint cartilage using this type of treatment may also help slow down the disease process.

Scientists still aren’t quite sure how these therapeutic proteins aid in cartilage repair. The basic idea is to remove platelets from the patient’s own blood and inject it into the joint. The blood plasma is prepared in such a way as to include three to four times more than the normal amount of platelets.

Platelets have growth factors that may speed up the body’s natural healing process. This treatment may shorten recovery time from acute soft tissue injuries. In the case of chronic joint degeneration, it may stimulate a healing process in the joint cartilage (called chondrogenesis).

But in a recent study from India, the benefit reported by patients (decreased pain and stiffness and increased motion and function) came after only slightly more than two weeks. And that might be too quick to really be caused by true joint regeneration. The authors suggest perhaps the platelet-rich plasma improves overall joint environment making it possible for the joint to “feel better” even when cartilage tissue isn’t changed directly.

We may not know for a while just how PRP therapy works. But studies like this one will help determine the best way to administer the treatment for optimal results. Experts suggest that platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections may not be the “wonder drug” some say they are but they do provide significantly more symptom relief. A single injection may be all that is needed every six months to aid in managing the pain and stiffness.

This type of “staged” treatment approach may provide enough improvement in patient function to make it worth the expense. Until more is understood about how PRP works, it may be enough to use the treatment as a temporary management tool against the early effects of osteoarthritis. In the interest of patient safety, there will be many physicians like yours who prefer to wait for the evidence to support the clinical practice before making the leap.