PRP platelet-rich plasma injection combined with aquatic exercise therapy improves functional recovery of basketball players with knee joint injury.

Objective: To explore the effect of PRP platelet-rich plasma injection combined with aquatic exercise therapy on the functional recovery of basketball players with knee joint injury.

Methods: This retrospective study included 60 basketball players who sustained knee joint injury between January 2021 to June 2023. Among them, 28 patients received PRP platelet-rich plasma injection (control group), while the other 32 patients received PRP platelet-rich plasma injection combined with aquatic exercise therapy (observation group). We compared the improvements in knee joint pain level, knee joint mobility, knee joint muscle strength and other indexes between the two groups before and after the interventions.

Results: After 8 weeks of intervention, the visual analogue scale (VAS) score in the observation group was significantly lower than that before the intervention; Besides, the knee flexion range and Lysholm knee function score in the observation group were significantly improved (all P<0.05); and all these improvements were more substantial than those in the control group (all P<0.05). The KOOS scores of both groups increased significantly after 8 weeks of intervention as compared to pre-intervention, and the scores in the observation group were significantly higher than those in the control group (all P<0.05).

Conclusion: PRP injection combined with aquatic exercise therapy significantly improves knee mobility, muscle strength and function, and reduces pain severity, in basketball players with knee injuries.