# Does PRP, care made from your blood, beat dummy care? *Does PRP Work? | PRP Clinic Surprise* > Does PRP work for a sore knee, hip, shoulder, or tendon? This prp clinic surprise page gives a plain answer. ## Begin with the joint that actually hurts Name the exact joint or tendon before weighing PRP. What happened in a knee study can't predict a shoulder result. Your exam may find a different reason for the soreness. The full name for PRP is platelet-rich plasma. A provider draws and spins your blood, keeping a portion rich in platelets, the blood cells that form clots and start repair. That portion is placed in the joint or aching tendon. A placebo is dummy care used to learn whether PRP itself adds relief. ## Try simpler care while the joint still moves Shorten anything that brings extra soreness or swelling. Continue gentle motion and light strength work when you don't hurt more later. Useful exercise needn't feel harsh. A brace or common medicine may suit some knee problems. Your doctor can check those choices against your health. If they haven't helped, the reason for the ache may need another exam. ## Keep the short answer in mind Research doesn't give one answer. Some knee studies found more help with PRP. A big knee trial didn't find a useful gain over salt water. Certain hip, shoulder, and Achilles studies didn't find added help either. The other people received salt water or a needle that stopped before reaching the aching tendon. Their results showed whether time, exercise, and the visit itself explained some relief. ## Ask whether the change would matter at home Look for easier stairs, sleep, walking, or grip. Ask how people given dummy care did during that period. A clinic percentage doesn't mean much without that fair check. Bring your doctor's term for the problem and notes on earlier care. Ask why PRP fits this body part and what's next if nothing changes. Biologic therapies are treatments made from your own body; here, that means prepared blood placed where you're sore. QC Kinetix in Peoria provides these therapies after medical providers examine the joint or tendon. ## Sources 1. In the RESTORE trial - the largest placebo-controlled PRP trial in knee osteoarthritis - 288 adults aged 50+ with symptomatic Kellgren-Lawrence grade 2-3 medial knee OA received three weekly intra-articular injections of leukocyte-poor PRP from a commercial system or saline placebo. At 12 months the mean change in knee pain was -2.1 points with PRP versus -1.8 with saline (difference -0.4; 95% CI -0.9 to 0.2; P=.17) against a minimum clinically important difference of 1.8, and the change in medial tibial cartilage volume was -1.4% versus -1.2% (difference -0.2%; 95% CI -1.9% to 1.5%; P=.81). Twenty-nine of 31 prespecified secondary outcomes showed no significant between-group difference. The authors concluded the findings do not support use of PRP for knee OA. Bennell KL, Paterson KL, Metcalf BR, et al. — [Effect of Intra-articular Platelet-Rich Plasma vs Placebo Injection on Pain and Medial Tibial Cartilage Volume in Patients With Knee Osteoarthritis: The RESTORE Randomized Clinical Trial](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34812863/). *JAMA*, 2021. DOI: 10.1001/jama.2021.19415. 2. A meta-analysis of 34 randomized trials (1403 PRP knees, 1426 control knees) found WOMAC favoured PRP over placebo at 12 months (P=.02) and over hyaluronic acid at 6 and 12 months (P<.001), and favoured PRP over steroids on VAS pain and KOOS at 6 months. Critically, the authors reported that the superiority of PRP did NOT reach the minimal clinically important difference for any outcome, and graded the quality of evidence as low. Filardo G, Previtali D, Napoli F, et al. — [PRP Injections for the Treatment of Knee Osteoarthritis: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32551947/). *Cartilage*, 2021. DOI: 10.1177/1947603520931170. 3. A network meta-analysis of 11 randomized trials (1353 patients) with HIP osteoarthritis found that for both pain and function, at 2-4 months and at 6 months, NO intervention - corticosteroid, hyaluronic acid or PRP - significantly outperformed an intra-articular saline placebo injection. Gazendam A, Ekhtiari S, Bozzo A, et al. — [Intra-articular saline injection is as effective as corticosteroids, platelet-rich plasma and hyaluronic acid for hip osteoarthritis pain: a systematic review and network meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32829298/). *British Journal of Sports Medicine*, 2021. DOI: 10.1136/bjsports-2020-102179. 4. A 24-site, 240-patient participant-blinded randomized trial of a single intratendinous PRP injection versus a sham (subcutaneous dry needle) for chronic midportion Achilles tendinopathy found VISA-A scores of 54.4 versus 53.4 at six months (adjusted mean difference -2.7; 95% CI -8.8 to 3.3) against a 12-point minimal clinically important difference. The authors stated the findings do not support the use of this treatment for chronic midportion Achilles tendinopathy. Kearney RS, Ji C, Warwick J, et al. — [Effect of Platelet-Rich Plasma Injection vs Sham Injection on Tendon Dysfunction in Patients With Chronic Midportion Achilles Tendinopathy: A Randomized Clinical Trial](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34255009/). *JAMA*, 2021. DOI: 10.1001/jama.2021.6986. 5. PATH-2 randomised 230 adults with acute Achilles tendon rupture managed non-surgically to PRP or a placebo dry-needle injection across 19 UK hospitals, with a central laboratory confirming the PRP was of good quality with the expected growth-factor content. At 24 weeks there was no detectable difference in muscle-tendon function (limb symmetry index 34.7% versus 38.5%; adjusted mean difference -3.9%; 95% CI -10.5% to 2.7%) or in any secondary outcome or adverse-event rate. Keene DJ, Alsousou J, Harrison P, et al. — [Platelet rich plasma injection for acute Achilles tendon rupture: PATH-2 randomised, placebo controlled, superiority trial](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31748208/). *BMJ*, 2019. DOI: 10.1136/bmj.l6132. 6. A placebo-controlled, double-blind randomized trial of 40 patients with chronic rotator cuff tendinopathy compared a single ultrasound-guided subacromial injection of 5 mL PRP with 5 mL saline, with both groups completing a 6-week standard exercise programme and follow-up to one year. PRP did not produce better outcomes than saline on any measure - a reminder that the exercise programme, not the injectate, carried the improvement. Kesikburun S, Tan AK, Yilmaz B, et al. — [Platelet-rich plasma injections in the treatment of chronic rotator cuff tendinopathy: a randomized controlled trial with 1-year follow-up](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23893418/). *American Journal of Sports Medicine*, 2013. DOI: 10.1177/0363546513496542. 7. The devices used to spin PRP at the point of care are cleared by FDA as clinical centrifuges, product code JQC, a Class I device under 21 CFR 862.2050 - for example the Biomet GPS Platelet Separation Kit (K030555, cleared 2003) and the Harvest SmartPrep2 / SmartPrep Platelet Concentration System (K103340, cleared 2010). That clearance covers the equipment that separates blood. It is not an FDA approval of platelet-rich plasma as a treatment for osteoarthritis, tendinopathy or any other orthopedic condition, and copy must never blur the two. U.S. Food and Drug Administration (Center for Devices and Radiological Health) — [510(k) Premarket Notification database and Product Classification: JQC, Centrifuges (Micro, Ultra, Refrigerated) For Clinical Use, 21 CFR 862.2050](https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfPCD/classification.cfm?ID=JQC). *FDA accessdata (CDRH device databases)*, 2003. ## Talk through the sore joint at a visit A webpage can't examine the joint or find the reason for soreness. Have medicine names, earlier reports, and short notes ready. A medical provider can review them with you. Ask about home care, side effects, total cost, and likely results. Call (602) 837-PAIN to reach the Phoenix-area clinic team. You'll know what to take before you leave home. Book a free consultation: --- Useful help for a sore joint Plain help for an aching joint, care at home, PRP, and the Peoria clinic. Useful help for Surprise joint aches, care at home, and PRP choices. This publication is run by the owners who operate the QC Kinetix clinics around Phoenix, and it can gain when a reader schedules there. © 2026 Surprise PRP Signal. General health education only; a clinician must evaluate your own symptoms and circumstances.