ClinicalTrials.gg
CompletedNCT03744234Updated Sep 18, 2019

Platelet-rich Plasma in the Sacroiliac Joint

An interventional study of PRP and Steroid Injection in Sacroiliac Joint Arthritis, sponsored by Columbia University. Completed at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2019-09-18.

Sponsored by Columbia University · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment

From the registry’s dates

  • Registered 1 year 11 months after the study started (first participant enrolled Dec 2016, registered Nov 2018).
Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
40
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
18 Years and older
Sex
All
01

Study summary

This is a double-blinded study where the injecting physicians and the patients will not know which arm they are randomized to. Each participant will be followed up for 6 months following the injection, and will have in office visits at the injection and approximately 2 weeks post injection. They will be called at month 1, 3, and 6 post injection to assess for any adverse events and number of physical therapy hours or changes in medication. At time of injection, 2 weeks post, and 1, 3 and 6 months after they will be asked to answer some questionnaires on pain and function.

Read the detailed description

Sacroiliac joint (SIJ) pain is a common and significant source of chronic low back pain. It has been broadly defined as pain located in the area of the SIJ that can be elicited by various pain provocation tests and relieved after infiltration of the joint with local anesthetic.

Essentially, a patients own blood is collected and spun at varying speeds until it separates into 3 layers, one of which is the platelet-rich plasma. Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections are commonly used in various conditions including chronic tendinopathy, soft tissue injuries, and ligamentous injuries. More recently, there has been a greater interest in examining the efficacy of PRP as a treatment for musculoskeletal conditions affecting joints, such as osteoarthritis (OA). To the investigators' knowledge, there are currently no reported studies evaluating the efficacy of PRP for SIJ pain. Given the previously discussed application and evidence behind the use of PRP in the knee and hip joints, the investigators propose that PRP can also provide a similar solution for treating SIJ pain.

02

Conditions studied

  • Sacroiliac Joint Arthritis

Keywords

  • PRP
  • Platelet-Rich Plasma
  • Sacroiliac Joint Pain
  • SIJ Pain
  • Osteoarthritis
03

In context

Sacroiliitis

42 studies on the registry are indexed under Sacroiliitis; 11 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 40 is below the median of 48 across 28 interventional studies indexed under Sacroiliitis.

Browse Sacroiliitis studies →

Lead sponsor

Columbia University is the lead sponsor of 1,136 studies on the registry; 195 are open to participants now.

Of its 180 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 148 (82%) have results posted.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years and older
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.

Inclusion criteria

  • Aged 18 years and older
  • Sacroiliac/Lower back pain
  • Positive block
  • Eligible for injection
  • Positive physical manual assessments

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • allergy
Terms in these criteria, in plain language(1)

Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.

Corticosteroids (steroids)

Anti-inflammatory medicines such as prednisone, prednisolone and dexamethasone — not the anabolic steroids used for muscle.

Studies differ in what they allow: check which steroid medicines, routes (tablets, injections, creams, inhalers, eye drops) and doses this study accepts.

05

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
Double (Care provider, Investigator)
Enrollment
40 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    Platelet-Rich Plasma Injection

    Autologous injection of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) in the sacroiliac joint

    Procedure: PRP

  • Active comparator
    Steroid Injection

    Steroid injection in the sacroiliac joint

    Procedure: Steroid Injection

Interventions

  • ProcedurePRP

    Autologous platelet-rich plasma

  • ProcedureSteroid Injection

    Steroid injection

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Change in Visual Analogue Pain (VAS) Score

    The visual analogue scale or visual analog scale (VAS) is a psychometric response scale which can be used in questionnaires. It is a measurement instrument for subjective characteristics or attitudes that cannot be directly measured. When responding to a VAS item, respondents specify their level of agreement to a statement by indicating a position along a continuous line between two end-points.Using a ruler, the score is determined by measuring the distance (mm) on the 10-cm line between the "no pain" anchor and the patient's mark, providing a range of scores from 0-100. A higher score indicates greater pain intensity.

    Time frame: Up to 6 months

  2. Change in Score on the Oswestry Low Back Pain Disability Questionnaire

    The Oswestry Disability Index (also known as the Oswestry Low Back Pain Disability Questionnaire) allows researchers and disability evaluators to measure a patient's permanent functional disability. For each section the total possible score is 5 (0= no pain to 5=worst pain) and there are 10 sections of questions. An aggregate score (percentage) is then calculated, with 0% indicating no disability to 100%, indicating crippled or bed-bound.

    Time frame: Up to 6 months

07

Study locations

1 site
  • Columbia University Irving Medical Center
    New York, New York 10032, United States
08

References and documents

Publications

  • Chen AS, Solberg J, Smith C, Chi M, Lowder R, Christolias G, Singh JR. Intra-Articular Platelet Rich Plasma vs Corticosteroid Injections for Sacroiliac Joint Pain: A Double-Blinded, Randomized Clinical Trial. Pain Med. 2022 Jul 1;23(7):1266-1271. doi: 10.1093/pm/pnab332. PubMed 34850180 ↗

Individual participant data

Plan to share: Undecided

09

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Sep 18, 2019, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
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Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT03744234
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Nov 16, 2018
Start date
Dec 1, 2016
Primary completion
Sep 16, 2019
Completion
Sep 16, 2019
Last update
Sep 18, 2019

Study contacts

Joseph P. Solberg, DO
principal investigator · Columbia University

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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This study is completed, as verified in Sep 2019. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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