PRP Treatment for Rotator Cuff and Shoulder Pain

Does PRP work for the shoulder and for rotator cuff disorders? Rotator cuff disease is incredibly common and is a leading cause of pain and disability. Cortisone injections have long been used to try to reduce pain and symptoms, yet more and more studies are coming out revealing the potential side effects of steroid injections. That’s why many physicians are looking for alternate and better therapies to try to treat shoulder problems. One of those treatments is orthobiologic therapy such as platelet rich plasma. PRP injections have been extremely well studied and shown to have excellent outcomes when used to treat conditions such as knee arthritis and tennis elbow. But what about rotator cuff disease? Let’s look at what a recent clinical trial shows.
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35810...
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Jeffrey Peng MD is a nonoperative orthopedist and sports medicine specialist. He created a TH-cam channel and blog to translate cutting edge medical knowledge and clinical research to benefit all those looking to live an active and healthy lifestyle. He focuses on maximizing non-surgical treatments for sports injuries and orthopedic conditions. He specializes in using orthobiologics and ultrasound guided minimally invasive techniques to treat osteoarthritis, tendinopathies, and musculoskeletal disorders.
Dr. Peng is board certified in sports medicine and family medicine. He completed residency with the Stanford family medicine residency program and completed his sports medicine training with the Stanford primary care sports medicine fellowship in San Jose. He is an active faculty member for both programs and is excited about training the next generation of physicians.
Dr. Peng’s sports medicine clinic is located in Campbell, California.
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My content reflects my own opinion and does not represent the views or opinions of my employers or hospital systems I am affiliated with. They are meant for educational purposes only. They do not substitute for the medical advice of a physician. Always seek the advice of your physician with any questions you may have regarding your health.

[@trendtrader8074]

Hi doctor I had prp for supraspinatus tendinopathy when do you recommend to do rehab expercises(physical therapy )

[@olitonottero7620]

great share !!

[@JeffreyPengMD]

Thanks! Glad you found it helpful

[@anonymous-ui8xw]

Does this work if i have torn infraspinatus?

[@scottbuchanan4219]

Dr. Peng, thanks for all your great content.
This is to follow up on your comment that PRP shows such mixed results with shoulders, because there might be multiple spots in the shoulder that need healing.
(1) Is the multiple needy spots factor the reason why with dextrose prolo therapy, that seems to work better with lots of multiple injections throughout the shoulder, rather than targeting a single spot?
(2) Back to PRP, is it viable to make multiple injections throughout the shoulder, or would that have bad side effects or require more PRP than we can reasonably extract? From what you are saying, it seems like multiple injections should only help.

[@cassiecandle5950]

Level 1 RCT by Schwitzguebel et al showed that PRP injections in interstitial SST tears showed more complications of frozen shoulder and extension of tear compared to the control group. Can you share your views on this?

[@JeffreyPengMD]

Link to the study please.
There are systematic reviews / meta analyses that show PRP is safe and likely at least as effective as corticosteroids. In fact, PRP has also been found to be an effective treatment for frozen shoulder.

[@jonasirw1]

Wow.. the data seems all over the map. How many injections were given to the study subjects?

[@JeffreyPengMD]

That's because the data IS all over the place. No consensus!

[@shivsagarkonda7948]

How about full thickness supraspinatus tear? Does prp work ?

[@milanpatel1693]

No, good results if done in setting of tendinosis or partial articular rotator cuff tear.