Abstract
Objective: Low back pain is spreading both in older and younger people in a fast manner. Discogenic pain resulting from degeneration of the intervertebral disc is responsible for 40% or more of the cases of low back pain. We hypothesized that single one level intradiscal autologous platelet rich plasma (PRP) injection might provide remarkable pain relief and return to pre-illness activity level in the patients suffering from discogenic pain.
Material and Methods: Twenty-two patients underwent injections of just one 3ml dose of PRP into one intervertebral disc space (single one level intradiscal autologous PRP injection) for discogenic pain. The patients were evaluated by visual analogue score (VAS) and Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) score before intradiscal PRP treatment and at six months after intradiscal PRP treatment.
Results: The average pre-treatment VAS and ODI scores were 5.6±1.0 and 55.0% ± 11.6% respectively. The average VAS and ODI scores at six months after intradiscal PRP treatment were 1.3±1.0 and 23.2% ± 11.2% respectively and the differences were statistically significant (p<0.01).
Conclusion: The present study demonstrates that single one level intradiscal PRP injection may provide remarkable pain relief and may increase the return to pre-illness activity level in the patients suffering from discogenic pain. For evaluation of the efficacy of this treatment, randomized placebo-controlled trials are needed.