Can your own blood ease back pain? PRP vs steroids for sacroiliac joints
NCT ID NCT05121961
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study compared two injections for sacroiliac joint pain: platelet-rich plasma (PRP) made from the patient's own blood, and a standard steroid/anesthetic mix. Fifty adults with confirmed sacroiliac joint pain received one of the two injections. Researchers measured pain levels and disability scores to see which treatment worked better.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- platelet-rich plasma (PRP)
- What this could lead to
- If PRP works better than steroids, it could offer a longer-lasting, natural treatment option for sacroiliac joint pain without relying on repeated steroid injections.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, early-stage study with only 50 participants. PRP may not prove superior to standard steroid injections, and results may not apply to everyone with back pain.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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50 people
The number who actually took part.
- Started
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Feb 2020
- Finished
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Jun 2025
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
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Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Adult (\>18 y/o) males and females referred for therapeutic injection to the investigators spine interventional service by a physiatrist or pain anesthesiologist with a clinical diagnosis of SIJ pain confirmed by history * 50% or greater reduction in pain by a diagnostic anesthetic block using no more than 1.5 cc 2% lidocaine performed under imaging guidance by a pain interventionalist (PM\&R, Pain Anesthesia, or Neuroradiology Spine Intervention). * Baseline pain must be \>/=4 by numeric rating scale (NRS), at least 6 weeks in chronicity, and must not be multi-factorial (related to radiculopathy or axial pain localizing elsewhere) by physical examination or confounding medical history (infection, inflammatory spondyloarthropathy, or osseous metastatic disease). Exclusion Criteria: * SIJ steroid treatment within the prior 6 months. * Patients with a history of infection currently on antibiotic therapy * Usage of systemic immunosuppressants * Pregnancy
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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University of Utah
Salt Lake City, Utah, 84132, United States
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Veterans Administration Salt Lake City Health Care System
Salt Lake City, Utah, 84148, United States
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