According to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, one in seven people in the United States has a musculoskeletal impairment. Musculoskeletal conditions include injuries to bones, joints, muscles, ligaments or tendons. They also include chronic diseases such as arthritis and osteoporosis.
In 2003, there were nearly 157 million visits to the doctor for musculoskeletal conditions, and more than 8 million people were hospitalized because of a musculoskeletal injury. Treating musculoskeletal disorders costs the United States about $215 billion each year and in 2003, caused employed workers to miss more than 147 million days of work.
Researchers are studying new ways to treat damaged tendons and other parts of the musculoskeletal system. Allan Mishra, M.D., from Stanford University Medical Center, has been studying platelet-rich plasma to heal the pain associated with tennis elbow.
Platelet-rich plasma is derived from a patient's own blood. Mishra draws a patient's blood and simply spins it down in a centrifuge to separate the red blood cells from the platelet-rich plasma. Once it's separated, the platelet-rich plasma is drawn into a syringe and injected back into the patient near the injured area. In the initial studies, the platelet-rich plasma was injected into the damaged tendons of elbows -- and then knees.
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Health Beat
Researchers are working on a medical procedure that could treat damaged tendons.
 
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Tendons aren't the only body parts Mishra thinks platelet-rich plasma will help. His research team plans to soon start a study looking at platelet-rich plasma as a way to regenerate cartilage in the knee.
Because the platelet-rich plasma comes from a patient's own blood and can be done as an outpatient procedure, there are no risks of disease contamination or rejection involved with the procedure.
