A technique used to promote healing after surgery might provide relief for knee pain, doctors believe.
Platelet-rich plasma treatment (PPP) has also become fashionable as a way of treating sports injuries in professional athletes.
Now doctors in Chicago, USA, are planning a clinical trial to test how effective it is.
Doctors who use the treatment believe it promotes cell proliferation and thus healing of injuries. It is prepared from the patient’s own blood.
Orthopaedic surgeons in Chicago want to see if they can use it successfully to help patients put off the need for knee surgery caused by osteoarthritis.
During the study injections of PPP will be compared with hyaluronic acid treatment in a group of 100 patients.
Doctors at Rush University, Chicago, say the study will be double-blind and randomised.
Researcher Professor Brian Cole, who is head physician for the Chicago Bulls basketball team, said: "There have been few controlled clinical trials, and results are inconsistent, but data so far suggests that it could be a promising treatment for healing in a variety of tissues.
"The therapy will not be a cure for osteoarthritis, but it could help put off the day when a patient will need to get a knee implant."
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