Is PRP a good option for tendon injuries like tennis elbow or rotator cuff pain?

For tennis elbow, 2025 meta-analyses found that PRP provides better long-term pain relief than corticosteroid injections, even though steroids ease pain more quickly at first. That makes PRP a reasonable conversation for people whose elbow pain has outlasted conservative care.

For Achilles tendinopathy and rotator cuff problems, the picture is more mixed, with short-term relief reported more consistently than long-term advantage. Because a partial or full tear is treated very differently from a strain, we start with a careful exam, often with imaging, before recommending any injection.

The evidence varies by tendon, which is exactly why a diagnosis comes first at our Honolulu clinic. A careful exam, often with imaging, tells us what is actually happening inside the tendon, and only then does the conversation turn to whether PRP is genuinely supported for your specific situation.