Medium-Term Knee Arthritis, PRP Injection Effective...The use of platelet activation device at Himchan Hospital clearly improves pain and function
Oct 22, 2025
As a non-surgical treatment for knee arthritis in the middle of the year, 'autologous platelet-rich plasma (PRP) intra-articular injection of knee osteoarthritis' is drawing attention, and it is analyzed that the process of inducing platelet activation affects the effectiveness of the injection treatment.
Himchan Hospital said that as a result of analyzing actual patient data, the use of platelet activation devices showed more pronounced effects on joint pain relief and function improvement than the non-use group.
Autologous platelet-rich plasma intraarticular injection is a treatment in which 20 to 30mL of the patient's own peripheral blood is collected and then self-platelet-rich plasma separated through a centrifuge is injected into the knee joint cavity. It is commonly referred to as the 'Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) injection'. It is a new medical technology that relieves pain in knee joints and improves function by using various ingredients contained in platelets. Increasing platelet activity during the procedure is known to help the therapeutic effect, so many studies are being conducted in this regard.
In response, Himchan Hospital's Arthology Research Institute divided 60 patients (ages 55 to 65) who received self-platelet-rich plasma intra-articular injection for knee arthritis from January to August 2025 into the use and non-use groups of platelet activation devices, comparing and analyzing the effect of treatment before and after the procedure. Treatment effects were applied based on the Visual Analysis Scale (VAS), which indicates the degree of pain, and the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC), which evaluates joint function. The VAS score evaluates the intensity of pain from 0 to 10, and the WOMAC score evaluates joint function from 0 to 96, both of which mean that the lower the score, the better.
As a result, VAS decreased by 52.1% from 6.10 points before the procedure to 2.92 points after the procedure in the platelet activation device group, showing a distinct pain relief effect compared to the non-use group. In addition, the WOMAC score decreased from 41.60 to 26.00 points, showing a high functional improvement of 37.5%, showing a big difference from the non-use group, which only decreased slightly by 8.4%. The difference in functional improvement between the two groups identified in the WOMAC score shows that there is a significant difference in patients' daily life recovery and knee function improvement.
Lee Dong-nyeong, head of Mokdong Himchan Hospital (Orthopedic Surgeon), said "Through this study based on clinical data, it was confirmed that the patient group using the platelet activation device not only had a greater pain reduction before and after the procedure, but also had a greater recovery effect on joint function."
Autologous platelet-rich plasma intraarticular injection treatment has the advantage of low risk of side effects or rejection because it uses platelet-rich plasma (PRP) extracted from the patient's own blood. In order to improve the therapeutic effect, studies on platelet activation methods have been conducted from various angles.
Typical examples are chemical methods that activate platelets by adding chemical components and physical methods that use liquid flow or electrical stimulation. Since platelet activation using physical methods uses the principle of natural activation of platelets without adding chemical activators, it is known to compensate for the time burden and risk of side effects caused by chemical methods.
Kim Yoo-geun, director of Bupyeong Himchan Hospital (Orthopedic Surgeon), explained, "Autologous platelet-rich plasma intraarticular injection reduces the time and cost burden on patients because it can be performed on the same day in an outpatient clinic without hospitalization." "However, it is important to judge the suitability of treatment because the treatment is strict, such as being applied to patients with KL grade 2 to 3 mid-term knee arthritis who do not respond to drug use or existing injection treatment for more than a year."
Himchan Hospital said that as a result of analyzing actual patient data, the use of platelet activation devices showed more pronounced effects on joint pain relief and function improvement than the non-use group.
Autologous platelet-rich plasma intraarticular injection is a treatment in which 20 to 30mL of the patient's own peripheral blood is collected and then self-platelet-rich plasma separated through a centrifuge is injected into the knee joint cavity. It is commonly referred to as the 'Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) injection'. It is a new medical technology that relieves pain in knee joints and improves function by using various ingredients contained in platelets. Increasing platelet activity during the procedure is known to help the therapeutic effect, so many studies are being conducted in this regard.
In response, Himchan Hospital's Arthology Research Institute divided 60 patients (ages 55 to 65) who received self-platelet-rich plasma intra-articular injection for knee arthritis from January to August 2025 into the use and non-use groups of platelet activation devices, comparing and analyzing the effect of treatment before and after the procedure. Treatment effects were applied based on the Visual Analysis Scale (VAS), which indicates the degree of pain, and the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC), which evaluates joint function. The VAS score evaluates the intensity of pain from 0 to 10, and the WOMAC score evaluates joint function from 0 to 96, both of which mean that the lower the score, the better.
As a result, VAS decreased by 52.1% from 6.10 points before the procedure to 2.92 points after the procedure in the platelet activation device group, showing a distinct pain relief effect compared to the non-use group. In addition, the WOMAC score decreased from 41.60 to 26.00 points, showing a high functional improvement of 37.5%, showing a big difference from the non-use group, which only decreased slightly by 8.4%. The difference in functional improvement between the two groups identified in the WOMAC score shows that there is a significant difference in patients' daily life recovery and knee function improvement.
Lee Dong-nyeong, head of Mokdong Himchan Hospital (Orthopedic Surgeon), said "Through this study based on clinical data, it was confirmed that the patient group using the platelet activation device not only had a greater pain reduction before and after the procedure, but also had a greater recovery effect on joint function."
Autologous platelet-rich plasma intraarticular injection treatment has the advantage of low risk of side effects or rejection because it uses platelet-rich plasma (PRP) extracted from the patient's own blood. In order to improve the therapeutic effect, studies on platelet activation methods have been conducted from various angles.
Typical examples are chemical methods that activate platelets by adding chemical components and physical methods that use liquid flow or electrical stimulation. Since platelet activation using physical methods uses the principle of natural activation of platelets without adding chemical activators, it is known to compensate for the time burden and risk of side effects caused by chemical methods.
Kim Yoo-geun, director of Bupyeong Himchan Hospital (Orthopedic Surgeon), explained, "Autologous platelet-rich plasma intraarticular injection reduces the time and cost burden on patients because it can be performed on the same day in an outpatient clinic without hospitalization." "However, it is important to judge the suitability of treatment because the treatment is strict, such as being applied to patients with KL grade 2 to 3 mid-term knee arthritis who do not respond to drug use or existing injection treatment for more than a year."
|
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
