Ultrasound-Guided Injections for Chronic Pain: A Regenerative Medicine Approach

Ultrasound-guided injections of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) and lidocaine offer a regenerative medicine approach to treating chronic pain conditions such as osteoarthritis, tendinopathy, facet joint arthropathy, and carpal tunnel syndrome by targeting the underlying pathology rather than merely masking symptoms; high-resolution point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) improves injection accuracy by visualizing anatomical landmarks like joints, tendons, bursae, and nerves while reducing complications by avoiding neurovascular structures, with studies showing that lidocaine and ropivacaine can be safely mixed with PRP without compromising platelet function, and recent guidelines recommend against adding corticosteroids to local anesthetics for procedures like carpal tunnel injections.