COMPARISON BETWEEN STEROID AND PRP INJECTIONS IN MEDIAL EPICONDYLITIS (GOLFER’S ELBOW) PATIENTS

Background: Golfer’s elbow, commonly known as medial epicondylitis, is an overuse syndrome caused by an eccentric overload of flexor-pronator mass on the medial epicondyle. This is produced by repetitive actions causing micro-trauma to insert the flexor-pronator mass, which affects the pronator teres more than the flexor carpi radialis. This study evaluates the efficacy of platelet-rich plasma and steroid injections in treating the golfer’s elbow. Materials and Methods: This is a prospective study including 30 patients. They were divided into 2 groups Group A (n = 15) and B (n = 15). PRP injection was given for Group A patients, and for Group B patients, Steroid injection was given. There was a total of 17 Females and 13 males in the study. All the patients were followed up at 1^st, 2^nd and 6^th months post-procedure, VAS and DASH scores were analyzed. Results: In group A, the mean VAS score pre-PRP was 6.8, which improved to 1.93,1.26 and 1.06, and the mean DASH score pre-PRP injection was 34.8, which improved to 11.8, 11.1, 10 at 1^st, 2^nd and 6^th months follow up. In group B, the mean VAS score pre-steroid injection was 5.8, which improved to 3.2, 2.6, and 2.2andthe mean DASH score pre-steroid injection was 34.4, which improved to 23.3, 22.6, 22.4 at 1^st, 2^nd and 6^th months follow up. Conclusion: PRP injection gives good functional outcomes without complications compared to steroid injection.