Written by Zita Sham, Fairuuz Saleh and Shiv Mohan Banka, Principal Physiotherapists at Phoenix Rehab.Clinically reviewed by Louise Yow, Principal Physiotherapist & Director, AHPC A1300363H.Last reviewed 8 October 2026.
You have had this for months.
The elbow, the knee, the heel, whichever one it is. You rested it. You stretched it. The anti-inflammatory tablets helped for a week and then stopped helping. Someone has now mentioned a PRP injection, and the number attached to it made you pause.
So you are up late with your phone, trying to work out one thing. Is this real medicine, or an expensive hope sold to people who have run out of other ideas.
Fair question. It deserves a straight answer rather than a sales page.
Here is the position we are writing from. Phoenix Rehab is a physiotherapy and hand therapy clinic. We do not perform PRP injections and we gain nothing whether you have one or skip it. Doctors give these injections. The decision is between you and the doctor offering it.
What we do see, constantly, is what happens after the needle. That part is hard to cover properly inside one consultation, and it is the part that quietly decides whether the money was worth spending. So that is what this page adds.
What a PRP injection actually is
PRP stands for platelet rich plasma. Plain version: a small amount of your own blood is taken from your arm, spun very fast in a machine called a centrifuge so the heavier parts separate from the lighter ones, and the layer rich in platelets is drawn off and injected into the painful area.
Platelets are the tiny cells in your blood that clump together when you cut yourself. They do more than stop bleeding. They carry chemical messengers called growth factors, which tell nearby tissue to start repairing. The idea behind a platelet rich plasma injection fits in one sentence. Concentrate those signals, put them where the tissue is struggling, and you might nudge a stalled repair process back into gear.
That theory is genuinely plausible. Tendons and some joint tissues have poor blood supply, which is part of why they heal slowly and stubbornly. Delivering concentrated repair signalling straight to the site is a reasonable thing to try.
Plausible is not the same as proven. The gap between those two words is where most of the confusion about PRP lives. A treatment can make perfect biological sense and still fail to beat a simpler option when it is properly tested. That has happened before and it will happen again.
So hold both things at once. The reasoning is sound. The proof is uneven, and uneven in different ways for different body parts.
What actually happens on the day
Knowing the sequence takes some of the fear out of it.
Blood is drawn from your arm the same way it is drawn for any blood test. The tube goes into the centrifuge and spins for several minutes. While that happens the area being treated is cleaned and usually numbed at the skin.
The injection is often done with ultrasound guidance, which means the doctor watches the needle on a screen as it goes in so the concentrate lands in the exact spot intended rather than near it. Not everyone uses guidance. Worth asking about, and we will come back to why.
Then the part people are least prepared for. It usually hurts afterwards, and the soreness can last several days. Some describe it as worse than the original problem for that short window. That flare is expected rather than a sign something went wrong, because the injection is partly meant to provoke an inflammatory reaction that kickstarts repair.
Which leads to the instruction that surprises people most. You are often told to stop anti-inflammatory medication for a period before and after the injection. These medications work by damping down inflammation, and inflammation is the process the injection is trying to start. Blunting it might blunt the treatment. Some clinicians consider this important, others less so.
Never stop or change any prescribed medication on the strength of a web page. That instruction has to come from the doctor treating you, who knows what else you are taking and why.
Where the evidence is stronger and where it is weaker
This is the section most PRP pages skip or fudge. We will keep it honest and general, because pretending to more precision than the research supports would be the dishonest move.
Three things are true at once, and you need all three.
One. The evidence is mixed and genuinely contested. Serious researchers disagree, trials point in different directions, and reviews reach different conclusions depending on which trials they include.
Two. There is a lot of commercial promotion around it. PRP is largely paid for out of pocket, which creates a financial incentive to present it more confidently than the research does. That does not make anyone dishonest. It does mean you should read enthusiastic claims with your eyes open.
Three. The product itself varies enormously between providers, which is a major reason the research is so hard to interpret.
Here is the rough shape by body area. Every line is deliberately qualitative.
Tendon problems such as tennis elbow and patellar tendon pain. This is where support for PRP is comparatively more encouraging, and where most of the interest has been. Encouraging is not the same as settled. Results still vary between studies and between people.
Knee osteoarthritis. Heavily studied and genuinely mixed. Some work suggests benefit for symptoms in certain groups, other work does not, and there is ongoing argument about how much of the reported improvement reflects the injection itself.
Plantar fascia pain at the heel. Some supportive findings, smaller body of evidence, and comparisons against other injections are inconsistent.
Rotator cuff problems at the shoulder. Studied in several different situations, including alongside surgery, and the picture is unclear. Results depend a great deal on what exactly is wrong with the cuff.
Hair and skin uses. PRP is also marketed for hair loss and facial treatments. Different fields, different evidence, outside anything we can speak to. Ask a doctor who works in that area.
Take a question from that list rather than a verdict: what does the evidence look like for my specific problem, not for PRP in general.
The variation problem: no two PRP injections are the same
If you remember one thing from this page, make it this.
PRP is not a single standardised product. It is a category. Two people can both truthfully say they had a PRP injection and have received quite different treatments.
Here is what varies:
- The preparation system. Different commercial kits and different spin protocols produce different end products from the same starting blood.
- Platelet concentration. How many times more concentrated than your normal blood the final injection is can differ substantially between systems.
- Whether white blood cells are included. Some preparations deliberately keep them in, others deliberately filter them out. These are usually described as leukocyte rich and leukocyte poor, and there is real debate about which suits which tissue.
- The number of injections. One appointment, or a course spread over weeks. Protocols differ.
- The volume injected and exactly where in the tissue it is placed.
- Whether ultrasound guidance is used, which affects how accurately the concentrate reaches the target.
- What you are told to do afterwards. Rest, or a structured loading program, and for how long.
Now think about what that does to research. A trial testing one preparation in one dose with one aftercare plan is not testing the same thing as a trial using a different system, dose and set of instructions. Pool those studies and you get a muddy answer, and some of that mud comes from the studies not testing the same treatment.
What our patients say
Google reviews from our clinics in Singapore.
It matters for you too. Someone telling you PRP worked wonders for their knee, or did nothing at all, is describing their preparation, their condition and their aftercare. Not necessarily yours.
Questions worth asking the doctor offering it
Take these with you. Any good doctor will be happy to answer them, and the answers tell you a lot.
- What is the evidence for my specific condition? Not for PRP broadly. For this problem, at this stage.
- How many injections, over what period?
- What is the total cost for the full course, including follow up? The headline price for one injection may not be the number that matters.
- What happens if it does not work? What is the next step, and is it still available afterwards.
- What rehabilitation do I need, who supervises it, and when does it start? A vague answer is worth noticing.
- Is ultrasound guidance used?
- What preparation system is used, and is it leukocyte rich or leukocyte poor? You are not expected to judge the answer. Asking signals you know this is not one uniform product, and it usually opens a better conversation.
- Is there any reason I would not be suitable?
What an injection can do and what it cannot
This is the part we see every week, so we will say it plainly.
An injection changes the environment inside the tissue. It does not build capacity.
Think about what went wrong. In most stubborn tendon and joint problems, the tissue was asked to handle more load than it could tolerate, repeatedly, over time. Sometimes that is one obvious overload. More often it is a slow mismatch. Training volume crept up. Work changed. Something further up or down the chain stopped doing its share, so the painful structure took the extra.
A tendon or a joint becomes stronger and more tolerant in one way only. It gets loaded progressively, the right amount at the right time, over weeks and months. No injection on any market skips that process. Tissue adapts to demand. That is the whole mechanism.
Picture the two paths.
Path one. You have the injection, the pain settles, you feel much better, and you go straight back to the same running volume, the same racket appointments, the same desk setup, the same weak hip or calf or grip that was never addressed. Same demand, same weak link, slightly better tissue. Many people in that situation find the problem returns.
Path two. You use the window the injection opens. Less pain means you can finally load the tissue properly, which you could not do before because loading it hurt too much. In that window you build the strength that was missing and fix what was overloading the structure.
Same injection. Very different outcome.
Our physios at Phoenix Rehab say the same thing to someone who decides against PRP. The loading work is the treatment either way. The injection, when it helps, makes that work possible sooner and more comfortably. Real contribution. Just not the whole job.
Safety, side effects and suitability
PRP has a reasonably reassuring safety profile, with honest caveats.
- Soreness and a temporary flare are common and expected, and usually settle over days.
- Infection is a risk with any injection through the skin, and it is rare.
- Allergic reaction risk is very low, because the material came from your own blood.
- Bruising or bleeding at the draw or injection site can happen.
- It may not suit everyone. Certain blood conditions, some medications and active infection can make it inappropriate. That is a medical assessment, not a self assessment.
Spreading redness, increasing heat, fever, or pain that keeps worsening instead of settling after a few days is not routine soreness. Contact the doctor who performed the injection promptly.
Cost and insurance, handled honestly
PRP is typically paid for by the patient rather than covered by insurance or standard medical benefits in Singapore. Coverage rules change and vary between policies, so check yours directly and ask the clinic to confirm before booking.
We are not naming figures because prices vary widely and quoting them would mislead you. Ask for the total cost of the full recommended course rather than the price of one appointment, and ask what follow up is included.
Factor in the other cost too. The rehabilitation afterwards is part of the true price. Budgeting for the injection and not for the work that makes it count is the most common way people end up disappointed.
What to do while you are deciding
You do not have to sit still while you think. Some things are worth doing either way.
Load management. Not rest. Rest is what most people try and why most people stay stuck, because tissue that is never loaded gets weaker and less tolerant. Load management means finding the level of activity the tissue can handle without a flare that lasts into the next day, and working there.
Progressive strengthening. Slow, heavy, boring, effective. For most tendon problems this has the strongest support behind it, and it has to be specific to the tissue and the stage.
Find the reason. If your heel hurts, the heel is the site. It may not be the cause. Calf strength, foot mechanics, footwear, the volume you added six weeks ago and how you spend your working hours all feed in.
Give it a real trial. Tendons respond slowly. A structured program needs weeks before you can judge it fairly, which is longer than most people allow before deciding it did not work.
Sometimes people start doing this properly, with supervision and progression, and the problem resolves before the injection ever happens. That is not an argument against PRP. It is an argument for knowing what a proper loading program actually feels like before deciding you have exhausted the simple options. And if you do go ahead, you arrive stronger and better prepared, which is the best position to be in when the window opens.
Getting assessed at Phoenix Rehab
If you are weighing up a PRP injection, an assessment gives you the missing half of the picture. What is loaded beyond its tolerance, what is weak, what the tissue can handle right now, and what a realistic program looks like over the coming months.
The first appointment is mostly questions and testing.
What you do, what changed before this started, what makes it worse, what it stops you doing. Then we test the area and everything feeding into it, because the painful spot often carries a problem that began somewhere else. You leave with an explanation you can repeat to someone else, and a plan with a first step in it.
If you have already had the injection, or have one booked, that timing matters and we build around it. You can see our physios at Orchard, Tampines, Serangoon or Tanjong Pagar, with Jurong East opening on 25 October 2026. WhatsApp 8336 6009 if you want to talk it through first.
Frequently asked questions
Does a PRP injection actually work? It depends on the condition, and the honest answer is that the evidence is mixed rather than settled. Support looks comparatively more encouraging for some tendon problems and is more contested for others such as knee osteoarthritis. Ask the doctor offering it what the evidence says for your specific problem, and expect a nuanced answer rather than a confident yes.
How much does a PRP injection cost in Singapore? It is usually paid for out of pocket and not typically covered by insurance, though policies differ so check yours. Prices vary between providers. Ask for the total cost of the full recommended course including any follow up, rather than the price of one injection alone, and budget for the rehabilitation afterwards.
Is PRP better than a cortisone injection? They do different things. Cortisone is a strong anti-inflammatory that often settles pain quickly but does not build tissue. PRP aims to encourage repair and tends to work more slowly if it works. Comparisons between them differ by condition and by study. Your doctor is the right person to weigh which suits your situation.
How long does it take to work? Not immediately. Most protocols expect gradual change over weeks rather than days, and there is often a sore period first. If you are promised fast relief, ask more questions.
How painful is a PRP injection? The blood draw is a normal blood test. The injection itself is usually brief. The part people underestimate is the soreness afterwards, which can last several days and can feel worse than your usual pain for that window. That flare is expected rather than a sign of a problem.
Do I need physiotherapy after a PRP injection? The injection changes the tissue environment. It does not build strength or tolerance, and it does not change what was overloading the tissue in the first place. Without a structured loading program afterwards, you return to the same demands with the same weak links. Ask your doctor who will supervise your rehabilitation and when it starts.
Can I have PRP for my knee osteoarthritis? Many doctors do offer it for knee osteoarthritis, and the evidence is genuinely mixed. Whether it is appropriate depends on how much joint change there is, your symptoms, your age and activity, and what else has been tried. That is a conversation with a doctor who can examine your knee and see your imaging.
Will PRP help my tennis elbow? Tendon problems including tennis elbow are where interest in PRP has been strongest, though results still vary. Either way, progressive loading of the tendon is the part that builds lasting tolerance. Many people with tennis elbow improve with a properly structured program, and some reach that point without needing an injection.
What are the side effects of a PRP injection? Soreness and a temporary flare are common. Bruising at the draw or injection site can happen. Infection is rare but possible with any injection. Allergic reaction risk is very low since the material comes from your own blood. It is not suitable for everyone, and that is a medical decision.}