Current Treatments For Injured Joints, Tendons Ineffective?

Jane Brody writing in the New York Times reports that clinical trials are questioning the effectiveness of corticosteroid injections and resting an injured joint for an injured tendon. For example, a review of “41 ‘high-quality’ studies involving 2,672 patients, published in November in The Lancet, revealed only short-lived benefit from corticosteroid injections. For the very common problem of tennis elbow, injections of platelet-rich plasma derived from the patients’ own blood had better long-term results.” Still, the authors noted that more and better clinical research is needed to “determine which among the many suggested remedies works best for treating different tendons.”