Early PRP for Knee OA

A retrospective analysis of registry data evaluating pain improvement with early PRP intervention for knee osteoarthritis.

Chun Maung DO, Brandon Burg DO, Andres Gronda MD, Austin Dukat DO, Sidharth Sahni,Salvador Portugal DO, Tracy Espiritu McKay
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NYU Langone Health Rusk Rehabilitation Center

NYU Langone Study: Earlier PRP Injections Lead to Greater Improvement in Pain Scores at 3 Months

DataBiologics is proud to support research that helps define best practices for regenerative medicine.In a recent study conducted at NYU Langone Health Rusk Rehabilitation, researchers explored the impact of timing on Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) therapy effectiveness for patients with knee osteoarthritis (KOA). The retrospective cohort study used de-identified data from the DataBiologics registry to uncover insights into how earlier PRP intervention correlates with better short-term pain outcomes.

About the study

Despite PRP’s growing popularity in the treatment of KOA, optimal injection timing remains unclear. To address this gap, Chun Maung, DO and colleagues analyzed over 300 patient records, measuring pain outcomes (NPRS) after PRP injection. Patients were grouped by the duration of their KOA symptoms before treatment, ranging from less than 1 month to over a year.The study specifically focused on evaluating numeric pain scores—including both usual and worst pain—over a 7-day period, 3 months post-injection.

The findings were presented as a poster at the American Academy of Pain Medicine (AAPM) 2025 'PainConnect' conference.

Key Findings

Better outcomes with earlier treatment: Patients who received PRP between 3 to 6 months after KOA symptom onset showed significantly greater improvements in pain compared to those who had symptoms for over a year.
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‍Usual pain scores at 3 months post-injection were significantly lower in the 3–6 month group (mean 1.619) vs. those with over a year of symptoms (mean 3.252), p=0.017.
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‍Worst pain scores were also on average 1.816 points better in the 3–6 month group compared to the over-1-year group, p=0.041.

These findings provide strong support for timely intervention and suggest that delaying PRP injections may reduce their effectiveness in alleviating pain associated with KOA.

‍This study is based on real-world data from the DataBiologics registry and reflects outcomes from multiple clinical sites. The findings have not been peer-reviewed and should be interpreted accordingly. While DataBiologics provided access to de-identified data for this study, we do not necessarily endorse the conclusions or interpretations made by the researchers.