Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) for Wrist Injuries

Wrist injuries are common and debilitating in the United States. The vast majority of injuries can be effectively managed by initial nonsurgical management, with only about 20% requiring more definitive surgical management.

About 17% of adults suffered one or more wrist injuries each year and 5% or 6% got multiple injuries. The injury severity and mortality varied among the groups of people with wrist injuries.

A combination of anatomical features of the arm, including biceps tendon insertion site location and radius radial length, enables a reliable prediction of radiographic carpal instability.

Wrist injuries can be effectively managed by non-urgent healthcare providers. The use of plaster of Paris cast or splint may be considered in cases with mild wrist impairment, especially if symptoms of discomfort are present.

Wrist injuries are injuries of the wrist, hand, and fingers. In most cases, the wrist is involved; the wrist is the only component of the arm that can rotate during motions of the hand, which is what causes it to collide with a solid object. The most common type of injury is a strain or sprained wrist. Many of these injuries do not require medical attention. Sprain and strain injuries usually heal with little permanent damage. More serious injuries include fractures, dislocation, and loss of use of the finger and, in some cases, the wrist.

Symptoms of wrist injuries include pain, swelling and numbness. Other common wrist injuries include ligament tears and sprains of the wrist. The wrist is the most common site for injury. Wrist injuries require urgent attention and evaluation.

Patients who have sustained injuries to the wrist from sport, trauma or accidental fall will be eligible for the clinical trials. At the current time there are no therapies for wrist trauma that have been shown to significantly enhance function, and no treatments have shown any benefit over placebo. For these patients, clinical study is the only best option to find a treatment.

There is increasing evidence that PRP can be used as both an adjunct to primary wound management and for improving tendon healing. There are now many reported uses for PRP that have had limited success in advancing its use as a treatment. It is worth looking at PRP in the context of other recent and emerging therapies.

There were no significant improvements in the scores measured in the current study for the use of PRP to reduce symptoms or improve QoL for those with wrist injuries.

The authors found no clear evidence of infection, tissue damage, or other adverse effects during the use of autologous PRP. The likelihood of contracting a serious infection or other complication associated with PRP therapy appears to be minimal if not nonexistent. The available evidence favors the use of autologous PRP for traumatic injuries to the distal forearm, as PRP appears to demonstrate equivalent clinical efficacy while appearing to be safer as compared to other forms of PRP.

Most recently published evidence does not support the use of PRP for chronic injuries such as tendonitis. Nevertheless, there is some evidence that shows PRP may be effective for reducing chronic wrist injury over other injections in acute cases.