Platelet-rich Plasma in the Sacroiliac Joint

This is a double-blinded study where the injecting physicians and the patients will not know which arm they are randomized to. Each participant will be followed up for 6 months following the injection, and will have in office visits at the injection and approximately 2 weeks post injection. They will be called at month 1, 3, and 6 post injection to assess for any adverse events and number of physical therapy hours or changes in medication. At time of injection, 2 weeks post, and 1, 3 and 6 months after they will be asked to answer some questionnaires on pain and function.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Sacroiliac Joint Arthritis
• Intervention / Treatment: Procedure: PRP; Procedure: Steroid Injection

Detailed Description

Sacroiliac joint (SIJ) pain is a common and significant source of chronic low back pain. It has been broadly defined as pain located in the area of the SIJ that can be elicited by various pain provocation tests and relieved after infiltration of the joint with local anesthetic.

Essentially, a patients own blood is collected and spun at varying speeds until it separates into 3 layers, one of which is the platelet-rich plasma. Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections are commonly used in various conditions including chronic tendinopathy, soft tissue injuries, and ligamentous injuries. More recently, there has been a greater interest in examining the efficacy of PRP as a treatment for musculoskeletal conditions affecting joints, such as osteoarthritis (OA). To the investigators' knowledge, there are currently no reported studies evaluating the efficacy of PRP for SIJ pain. Given the previously discussed application and evidence behind the use of PRP in the knee and hip joints, the investigators propose that PRP can also provide a similar solution for treating SIJ pain.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 40
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • New York
    • New York, New York, United States, 10032
      • Columbia University Irving Medical Center

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 16 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Aged 18 years and older
• Sacroiliac/Lower back pain
• Positive block
• Eligible for steroid injection
• Positive physical manual assessments

Exclusion Criteria:

• Steroid allergy

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Double

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Platelet-Rich Plasma Injection; Autologous injection of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) in the sacroiliac joint	Procedure: PRP; Autologous platelet-rich plasma
Active Comparator: Steroid Injection; Steroid injection in the sacroiliac joint	Procedure: Steroid Injection; Steroid injection

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in Visual Analogue Pain (VAS) Score	The visual analogue scale or visual analog scale (VAS) is a psychometric response scale which can be used in questionnaires. It is a measurement instrument for subjective characteristics or attitudes that cannot be directly measured. When responding to a VAS item, respondents specify their level of agreement to a statement by indicating a position along a continuous line between two end-points.Using a ruler, the score is determined by measuring the distance (mm) on the 10-cm line between the "no pain" anchor and the patient's mark, providing a range of scores from 0-100. A higher score indicates greater pain intensity.	Up to 6 months
Change in Score on the Oswestry Low Back Pain Disability Questionnaire	The Oswestry Disability Index (also known as the Oswestry Low Back Pain Disability Questionnaire) allows researchers and disability evaluators to measure a patient's permanent functional disability. For each section the total possible score is 5 (0= no pain to 5=worst pain) and there are 10 sections of questions. An aggregate score (percentage) is then calculated, with 0% indicating no disability to 100%, indicating crippled or bed-bound.	Up to 6 months

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Columbia University
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Joseph P. Solberg, DO, Columbia University

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Chen AS, Solberg J, Smith C, Chi M, Lowder R, Christolias G, Singh JR. Intra-Articular Platelet Rich Plasma vs Corticosteroid Injections for Sacroiliac Joint Pain: A Double-Blinded, Randomized Clinical Trial. Pain Med. 2022 Jul 1;23(7):1266-1271. doi: 10.1093/pm/pnab332.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): December 1, 2016
• Primary Completion (Actual): September 16, 2019
• Study Completion (Actual): September 16, 2019

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: November 14, 2018
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: November 14, 2018
• First Posted (Actual): November 16, 2018

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): September 18, 2019
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: September 17, 2019
• Last Verified: September 1, 2019

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Osteoarthritis; PRP; Platelet-Rich Plasma; Sacroiliac Joint Pain; SIJ Pain
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Joint Diseases; Musculoskeletal Diseases; Arthritis; Sacroiliitis
• Other Study ID Numbers: AAAQ8843

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: Undecided

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No