Overview of Available Treatments and Their Limitations for Hypertrophic Facet Joints-A Systematic Review of the Literature

Background: Physicians worldwide face the challenging task of improving patient satisfaction by reducing pain in injured patients. Currently, available therapeutic approaches provide only short-term relief of symptoms without addressing long-term satisfaction. This has led to exploring regenerative treatment options that can deliver better outcomes. One such promising option is platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections, which are gaining popularity as an alternative to standard steroid injections.

Objectives: This study examines the therapeutic effects of PRP injections in adult patients with stress or traumatic injuries.

Methods: The systematic literature review yielded 60,301 articles, books, and websites verified and removed from the final project. The final studies used in the report comprised randomized trials, observational studies, and case reports on injecting biologics into the epidural space, facet joints, or sacroiliac joints. In total, 15 reviews and 13 studies were included in this review.

Results: In the Wu et al study, 46 participants were randomly divided into group A (0.5 mL PRP injection) and group B (1.5 mL methylprednisolone injection). Although group B initially showed a notable pain reduction at one week, it diminished over 6 months, with group A consistently improving, reaching an 80.96% success rate and higher patient satisfaction. In the study by Singla et al comparing PRP (group P) and corticosteroid (group S) in 40 participants, PRP demonstrated a markedly greater reduction in VAS Scale at 6 weeks and 3 months, with a 90% effectiveness compared with 75% for steroids.

Conclusion: PRP injections offer greater pain alleviation, disability reduction, and overall patient satisfaction improvements due to their effect on the immune response to promote the growth and proliferation of damaged tissue. It has also been shown to offer a safer alternative that carries fewer risks than that of transforaminal steroid injections due to promising clinical trials and scientific investigation outcomes. Several of the steroid injection studies proved to have mixed results and efficacy because patients reporting having similar pain relief with placebo groups that used saline injections. Further studies will be needed to evaluate PRP's long-term efficacy and cost-effectiveness for practical patient use in the future.