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. 2013 Oct 17;2(10):227-32.
doi: 10.1302/2046-3758.210.2000200. Print 2013.

Achilles tendinopathy management: A pilot randomised controlled trial comparing platelet-richplasma injection with an eccentric loading programme

R S Kearney  1 , N Parsons, M L Costa
Affiliations

Achilles tendinopathy management: A pilot randomised controlled trial comparing platelet-richplasma injection with an eccentric loading programme

R S Kearney et al. Bone Joint Res. .

Abstract

Objectives: To conduct a pilot randomised controlled trial to evaluate the feasibility of conducting a larger trial to evaluate the difference in Victorian Institute of Sports Assessment-Achilles (VISA-A) scores at six months between patients with Achilles tendinopathy treated with a platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injection compared with an eccentric loading programme.

Methods: Two groups of patients with mid-substance Achilles tendinopathy were randomised to receive a PRP injection or an eccentric loading programme. A total of 20 patients were randomised, with a mean age of 49 years (35 to 66). All outcome measures were recorded at baseline, six weeks, three months and six months.

Results: The mean VISA-A score for the injection group at the primary endpoint of six months was 76.0 (95% confidence interval (CI) 58.3 to 93.7) and for the exercise group was 57.4 (95% CI 38.1 to 76.7). There was no statistically significant difference between these scores (p = 0.171), which was expected from such a pilot study.

Conclusions: This pilot study has been key to providing data to inform a larger study and shows that the methodology is feasible. Cite this article: Bone Joint Res 2013;2:227-32.

Keywords: Achilles tendon; Eccentric loading; Platelet rich plasma.

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Conflict of interest statement

ICMJE Conflict of Interest:None declared

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
CONSORT flow diagram.
Figs. 2a - 2c
Figs. 2a - 2c
Boxplots showing a) the Victorian Institute of Sports Assessment-Achilles (VISA-A) score, b) the EuroQol 5-Dimension (EQ-5D) score and c) the EQ-5D visual analogue scale for health state at baseline, six weeks, three months and six months. The boxes denote the median and interquartile range, the whiskers denote the range of data and ° denotes outlying data.
Figs. 2a - 2c
Figs. 2a - 2c
Boxplots showing a) the Victorian Institute of Sports Assessment-Achilles (VISA-A) score, b) the EuroQol 5-Dimension (EQ-5D) score and c) the EQ-5D visual analogue scale for health state at baseline, six weeks, three months and six months. The boxes denote the median and interquartile range, the whiskers denote the range of data and ° denotes outlying data.
Figs. 2a - 2c
Figs. 2a - 2c
Boxplots showing a) the Victorian Institute of Sports Assessment-Achilles (VISA-A) score, b) the EuroQol 5-Dimension (EQ-5D) score and c) the EQ-5D visual analogue scale for health state at baseline, six weeks, three months and six months. The boxes denote the median and interquartile range, the whiskers denote the range of data and ° denotes outlying data.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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