Guedes A, de Mattos ESR, Barreto ESR, Antunes Júnior CR. Letter to the Editor: Intradiscal platelet-rich plasma for discogenic low back pain - promise or premature adoption? World J Orthop 2026; 17(7): 116587 [DOI: 10.5312/wjo.116587]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Alex Guedes, MD, PhD, Associate Professor, Departamento de Cirurgia Experimental e Especialidades Cirúrgicas, Faculdade de Medicina da Bahia, Universidade Federal da Bahia, Praça XV de novembro S/N.º, Largo do Terreiro de Jesus, Salvador 40026-010, Bahia, Brazil. alexguedes2003@yahoo.com.br
Research Domain of This Article
Orthopedics
Article-Type of This Article
letter
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Guedes A, de Mattos ESR, Barreto ESR, Antunes Júnior CR. Letter to the Editor: Intradiscal platelet-rich plasma for discogenic low back pain - promise or premature adoption? World J Orthop 2026; 17(7): 116587 [DOI: 10.5312/wjo.116587]
World J Orthop. Jul 18, 2026; 17(7): 116587 Published online Jul 18, 2026. doi: 10.5312/wjo.116587
Letter to the Editor: Intradiscal platelet-rich plasma for discogenic low back pain - promise or premature adoption?
Alex Guedes, Enilton de Santana Ribeiro de Mattos, Eduardo Silva Reis Barreto, César Romero Antunes Júnior
Alex Guedes, Enilton de Santana Ribeiro de Mattos, Departamento de Cirurgia Experimental e Especialidades Cirúrgicas, Faculdade de Medicina da Bahia, Universidade Federal da Bahia, Salvador 40026-010, Bahia, Brazil
Alex Guedes, Enilton de Santana Ribeiro de Mattos, Eduardo Silva Reis Barreto, César Romero Antunes Júnior, Orthopedics and Traumatology Research Group, Universidade Federal da Bahia, Salvador 40110-060, Bahia, Brazil
Alex Guedes, Enilton de Santana Ribeiro de Mattos, Serviço de Ortopedia e Traumatologia, Hospital Santo Antonio, Obras Sociais Irmã Dulce, Salvador 40.415-006, Bahia, Brazil
Co-first authors: Alex Guedes and Enilton de Santana Ribeiro de Mattos.
Author contributions: Guedes A contributed to the conceptualization and design of the study; de Mattos ESR contributed to the interpretation and critical review of the manuscript; Guedes A and Barreto ESR contributed to writing of the manuscript; Barreto ESR and Antunes Júnior CR contributed to the data collection and analysis of the manuscript; All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
AI contribution statement: Grammarly was used to assist with English-language correction and polishing. We are authors from Brazil, and this resource is made available by our institution/faculty to support English-language editing. Grammarly was used only for English-language correction and polishing. It was not used for data analysis, scientific content generation, or substantive writing of the manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Corresponding author: Alex Guedes, MD, PhD, Associate Professor, Departamento de Cirurgia Experimental e Especialidades Cirúrgicas, Faculdade de Medicina da Bahia, Universidade Federal da Bahia, Praça XV de novembro S/N.º, Largo do Terreiro de Jesus, Salvador 40026-010, Bahia, Brazil. alexguedes2003@yahoo.com.br
Received: November 20, 2025 Revised: March 10, 2026 Accepted: April 9, 2026 Published online: July 18, 2026 Processing time: 232 Days and 19.4 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: Current treatment options for discogenic low back pain remain limited in their ability to provide durable symptom relief and structural restoration. In this editorial, we discuss platelet-rich plasma (PRP) as a potential biological treatment. The growth factor content of PRP may help counteract disc catabolism, although it remains uncertain whether these mechanisms translate into meaningful clinical regeneration. Two randomized trials reported modest or no clear between-group benefit, whereas uncontrolled studies have suggested symptomatic improvement. A recent quasi-experimental study found early improvements in pain and function without major adverse events, although important confounding factors remained. Overall, the current evidence supports continued clinical equipoise, emphasis on patient-centered outcomes, and adequately powered, blinded trials before broader clinical adoption of intradiscal PRP.
