Platelet rich plasma in treatment of musculoskeletal pathologies

Over the past two decades, platelet rich plasma (PRP) has been available as a biological treatment for healing or regeneration of impaired or non-functional tissues. This manuscript highlights PRP application in the treatment of musculoskeletal pathologies. Data in relation to PRP were gathered using PubMed and Medline database from 1994 to 2019, including in vivo animal experiments and clinical studies. PRP appears to promote pain relief and improvement in joint function and it usage has gained popularity for the treatment of musculoskeletal diseases. Nevertheless, limitations in current studies also need to be taken into account in view of the short term effects of PRP therapy and follow-up studies are needed to confirm the long-term efficacy of PRP. Growing interest in the use of this therapeutic modality for the treatment of musculoskeletal diseases gives new opportunities for further clinical studies on the efficacy of this bioproduct, including the more standardised PRP lysate which contains all the active principles of native PRP, and will become highly popular in regenerative medicine.