Saphenous Nerve Block Versus Platelet Rich Plasma for Chronic Knee Osteoarthritis

Knee osteoarthritis, as a progressive disease is one of the most common causes of pain, motor disorder and disability in the elderly. By increasing age, the cartilage is eroded and endures degenerative changes due to physiological and biomechanical changes as well as metabolic effects and trauma . Non-surgical interventions for pain control of knee osteoarthritis include weight loss, exercise, changes in daily activities, physiotherapy, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and analgesics .However ,the intra-articular injection is recently recommended by many studies such as corticosteroids, hyaluronic acid, Growth hormone, dextrose ,and platelet rich plasma. Intra-articular injection of platelets are activated and undergo degranulation, releasing a range of growth factors, including transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β), platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF), insulin-like growth factor, vascular endothelial growth factors, epidermal growth factors and basic fibroblast growth factor 2. These growth factors are thought to activate a variety of signaling pathways, which promote healing of bone and soft tissue.Also,some minimally invasive therapeutic options have been effective in pain relieve in KA, such as ultrasound-guided saphenous nerve block .