Athletes Heal Better, Return to Play Sooner With ZetrOZ Systems’ sam Ultrasound Treatment and PRP Than With PRP Alone

TRUMBULL, Conn., October 19, 2023 (Newswire.com) - Elite athletes regularly use platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections for soft tissue healing without surgery or steroids. A new study shows that athletes return to play more quickly, with less pain and better overall outcomes, when treated with a combination of PRP and ZetrOZ Systems’ sustained acoustic medicine (sam®) technology than with PRP alone.  

The study, published in Orthopedic and Muscular System: Current Research¹ in August 2023, examined the cases of 35 elite college-age football and track athletes with grade II hamstring strains, quadriceps strains, or patellar tendinopathy, commonly called “jumper’s knee.” None of the patients’ injuries had responded to conservative treatment after one week.

Athletes often use PRP to enhance healing from soft tissue injuries and reduce the need for surgical interventions, corticosteroids, and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). Long-duration ultrasound treatment is becoming a common treatment for soft-tissue injuries, with many studies documenting its effectiveness in speeding recovery.

Researchers divided the athletes into two groups, with half receiving the PRP treatment alone and half receiving both PRP injections and long-duration ultrasound treatment with the ZetrOZ sam® 2.0 wearable ultrasound unit for four hours daily for two weeks.

At the end of the treatment period, the athletes who received both PRP and ZetrOZ sam® long-duration ultrasound showed better outcomes than those who received only PRP:

• Return to play (RTP) was 21.33 days faster with sam® and PRP compared to PRP alone. (p < 0.0001)  
• sam® and PRP decreased mean pain scores (NRS) by 0.88 points compared to PRP alone. (p = 0.0086)  
• sam® and PRP increased the global rating of change (GROC), an overall health improvement scale with a range of –7 to 7, by 1.28 points compared to PRP alone. (p < 0.0001)

This new study builds on a body of more than 40 studies, including 20 level I-V clinical research studies, randomized-placebo-controlled trials, and other publications confirming the efficacy of ZetrOZ Systems’ technology in treating back pain, arthritis pain, and strain injuries of tendons and ligaments, and its ability to improve recovery, range of motion, and strength.

“We’re pleased to see yet another study that confirms that our sam® wearable ultrasound unit accelerates tissue healing, relieves pain and helps people return to doing what they love to do,” said George K. Lewis, Ph.D., founder, president, and CEO of ZetrOZ Systems. “We’re especially pleased to see a study demonstrating that sustained acoustic medicine system facilitates and enhances the ability of other therapies, in this case, a regenerative medicine therapy like PRP.”

The study’s authors note that the improvements are significant in many ways: “A protracted RTP can have deleterious effects on the athlete’s physical and behavioral health, resulting in poor academic performance, affecting future athletic opportunities, and negatively impacting their team. Thus, reducing downtime while ensuring players are fully capable of performing is vital.”

The researchers concluded: “Our findings suggest that patients being treated with PRP therapy for healing a soft tissue injury may receive additional benefits with the addition of 14-day Long Duration Ultrasound therapy. The combination of PRP+LDU therapy provides a significant reduction in time to return to sport without impacting the long-term durability of the soft tissue. It increases pain reduction and overall health improvement for patients recovering from a sport-related injury. Non-invasive LDU therapy provides a valuable tool to expedite tissue regeneration and should be considered by practitioners to augment regenerative medicine approaches such as PRP.”

To learn more, visit www.samrecover.com.

1) Krystofiak J, Bruins J, Bates E, Kummer J (2023) Long Duration Ultrasound Combined with Platelet-Rich Plasma Injection for Return to Sport after Soft Tissue Injury: A Single Center Study. Orthop Muscular Syst. 12:366.

About ZetrOZ Systems

ZetrOZ Systems is leading healing innovations in sports medicine, developing wearable bioelectronic devices for the delivery of sustained acoustic medicine (sam®). Researched and funded by the federal government, ZetrOZ is built on the proprietary medical technology of +46 patents and is the exclusive manufacturer and developer of the sam® product line, which is designed for the treatment of acute and chronic musculoskeletal conditions.