Research Article: Ultrasound guided intralesional injections of platelet rich plasma in the treatment of iliac crest pain syndrome and the associated low back pain
Abstract:
Iliac Crest Pain Syndrome (ICPS) was established as a discrete and common cause for Low Back Pain (LBP) of soft tissue origin. Previous studies on ICPS proposed enthesopathy of Erector Spinae (ES) muscle and Thoracolumbar fascia (TLF) at the Posterior Super Iliac Spine (PSIS), as well as pathology of the Long Posterior Sacroiliac Ligament (LPSL) as main pathologic substrates in ICPS. Platelet rich plasma (PRP) is an orthobiologic treatment that was found to be especially efficacious in soft tissue pathology, like enthesopathy and ligamentopathy. In this study we aimed to assess the efficacy of PRP intralesional injections at the ES/TLF/LPSL entheses in patients with ICPS and associated LBP.
The study was partially funded by a postdoctoral research grant of the Medical University of Plovdiv and included 46 ICPS patients. Each patient received two intralesional PRP injections in their ES/TLF/LPSL entheses at the PSIS within a three-week interval. All procedures were performed under direct US guidance. The primary endpoint was pain reduction on VAS (0–100) in six months. Secondary endpoints included assessment of the range of motions in the lumbar spine, disability (RMDS: 1–24) and health status (HAQ: 0–3), as well as patients’ satisfaction (five points Likert scale), all in six months.
Pain in rest decreased from 53 to 16?mm, pain on motion—from 69,5 to 18?mm on VAS in six months. Lumbar range of motion increased with the average of 2,5?cm both in the sagittal and coronal planes. Regarding PROs, RMDS dropped from 15 to 6,5 points, and HAQ from 1.13 to 0.62 in six months.
In the present study, PRP was applied directly intralesional under US guidance, following a strict and easily reproducible protocol. The results showed a significant positive effect on all the investigated parameters: pain, spinal mobility and PROs. Thus, PRP US guided injections at the PSIS could represent a valid and efficacious treatment option in patients with ICPS and the associated LBP.
Introduction:
Iliac Crest Pain Syndrome (ICPS) was established as a discrete and common cause for Low Back Pain (LBP) of soft tissue origin. Previous studies on ICPS proposed enthesopathy of Erector Spinae (ES) muscle and Thoracolumbar fascia (TLF) at the Posterior Super Iliac Spine (PSIS), as well as pathology of the Long Posterior Sacroiliac Ligament (LPSL) as main pathologic substrates in ICPS. Platelet rich plasma (PRP) is an orthobiologic treatment that was found to be especially efficacious in soft tissue pathology, like…
Read more