Editorial Commentary: The Needle or the Knife? Platelet-Rich Plasma Versus Surgery for Lateral Epicondylitis

The most efficacious treatment for patients with lateral epicondylitis who have not adequately improved despite being treated for extended periods with commonly used nonoperative measures is controversial. Are locally applied platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections more effective than a surgical procedure, such as arthroscopic lateral epicondylitis debridement, in reducing symptoms for such patients? Level II evidence shows that long-term clinical benefits are much less likely to occur in patients receiving PRP injections. Moreover, in patients treated with PRP injection, progressively worsening pain is more likely to develop during activity at 1 and 2 years of follow-up in contradistinction to arthroscopically managed patients.