The efficacy of platelet-rich plasma for lumbar spinal pain: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

Platelet-rich plasma therapy is another biological method of treatment of lumbar spinal pain, which has received attention; however, its actual clinical value remains unknown. This systematic review and meta-analysis investigated the efficacy of platelet-rich plasma therapy compared with other therapies for the management of lumbar spinal pain. The searches were conducted in Medline (PubMed), Cochrane CENTRAL, Scopus, and Google Scholar to identify the randomized controlled trials. The Review Manager 5.4 was used to pool the available data, and the Cochrane Risk of Bias tool was used to assess the quality of the studies. The analyzed sample comprised 6 trials with 236 patients. Overall, as compared to alternative therapies, platelet-rich plasma therapy did not significantly alter pain intensity or impairment levels as measured by the Visual Analogue Scale and Oswestry Impairment Index. Even while the SF-36 scale showed an increase in physical discomfort, the changes in physical functioning were negligible and not statistically significant. To recap, no clear benefit of platelet-rich plasma therapy was found compared to existing treatments for lumbar spinal pain. To better understand its role in clinical practice, larger, well-designed randomized controlled trials are needed.