If you are considering an injection for a painful joint, tendon or sports injury, choosing where to have your treatment should require more than solely finding a clinic in a convenient location. Whether you are researching PRP treatment, an Arthrosamid® injection for knee osteoarthritis, or another type of injection, it is worth considering the clinical expertise required for each procedure.

At Pure Sports Medicine, our PRP and Arthrosamid® injections are administered by our experienced Consultant Specialists in Sport, Exercise & Musculoskeletal Medicine. The injection sits within a clinical pathway that starts with an assessment and diagnosis and will continue through rehabilitation and return to activity.

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PRP stands for platelet-rich plasma and is an orthobiologic treatment made from the  patient’s own blood. During PRP treatment, a small blood sample is taken and processed to concentrate platelets and plasma before the resulting preparation is injected into the area being treated.

This treatment is used in a range of musculoskeletal conditions, including tendon, ligament, muscle and joint injury, as well as for chronic conditions, such as osteoarthritis, aiding with symptom management

Learn more about PRP injections

Before recommending treatment, a clinician will need to understand what is causing your symptoms, whether PRP is appropriate, what alternatives are available and whether there are any factors that could make your treatment unsuitable. This is where our consultant-led approach can provide an important layer of medical expertise.

At Pure Sports Medicine, our Consultant Specialists assess your musculoskeletal problem, discuss your medical history, perform an examination and use diagnostic tools, such as ultrasound, and will then review whether an injection is suitable – as part of your wider treatment pathway.

Pain does not have a single cause. For example, knee pain could relate to osteoarthritis, a tendon problem, ligament injury, referred pain, inflammatory arthritis, or another musculoskeletal condition. Treating the wrong structure simply because it is painful may not address the underlying problem.

This distinction matters. The underlying aim should therefore be the right treatment for the right diagnosis in the right patient, rather than an injection for its own sake.

There are important regulatory considerations around PRP in the UK.

The Chartered Society of Physiotherapy describes PRP used for medical purposes as an “unlicensed medicine”. However, its current guidance explains that a doctor may manufacture and prepare PRP for a named patient and direct a Physiotherapist to administer it in the same clinical practice. The guidance distinguishes the responsibilities of the professionals involved.

This means the question is not simply whether a Physiotherapist or Doctor can physically perform an injection. The more useful questions are “Who is responsible for assessing me, establishing the diagnosis, determining whether PRP is appropriate and overseeing my treatment?”

At Pure Sports Medicine, a medical consultation is an integral part of the treatment pathway,

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Choosing a doctor-led PRP service does not mean Physiotherapy has to be separate from your care. In fact, the two should work together.

An injection may form one part of your  treatment plan, while with physiotherapy addressing  your strength, mobility, movement patterns, load management and a gradual return to normal activity or sport.

At Pure Sports Medicine, our multidisciplinary team brings medical and Physiotherapy expertise together under one roof. Our skilled Physiotherapy team assess the causes of pain and can develop individualised management plans, with access to rehabilitation facilities where appropriate. This approach is particularly valuable when treating an individual who wants to understand not only “Will an injection help?”, but also “What do I need to do afterwards?”

A typical treatment journey for our patients might therefore look like the following: Assessment → Diagnosis → Treatment decision → PRP injection where appropriate → Rehabilitation → Return to your activities.

The precise pathway will depend on the individual and the condition being treated.

A PRP knee injection is one of the areas where patients commonly search for information about PRP therapy.

PRP has been routinely studied in people with knee osteoarthritis, with evidence suggesting that some patients may see improvements in pain and function. However, the evidence is not uniform, and PRP should not be presented as a guaranteed solution or a way of reversing established osteoarthritis. This makes an initial assessment particularly important.

If you are considering a PRP knee injection, our clinicians should be able to explain what is causing your knee symptoms, whether PRP is appropriate and how it fits alongside other treatment options.

It is also worth remembering that the cost of PRP can vary considerably between providers depending on the preparation system, clinical expertise, consultation and follow-up involved.

View our PRP treatment options

The response to PRP injections can vary according to the condition being treated, the severity of the problem, the PRP preparation and the individual patient. Your clinician will explain what you might reasonably expect during the early stages following treatment and how rehabilitation should progress.

This is another reason why follow-up and rehabilitation matter, as the injection itself is only one part of the process.

Arthrosamid® is an injectable hydrogel designed for the symptomatic treatment of knee osteoarthritis. It works differently from PRP and from conventional hyaluronic acid knee injections, providing a hydrogel within the joint.

It will be important to note that you may see terms such as hydrogel injections, “cartilage shots in the knee”, or even collagen injections for knees when researching treatment options online. These descriptions can refer to very different products and mechanisms, so it remains vital to understand exactly what is being offered and why it has been recommended.

Arthrosamid® is a hydrogel, not a collagen or hyaluronic acid injection, and is administered using ultrasound guidance, with the intention to provide cushioning within the knee joint.

Explore Arthrosamid® Injections

Research into hydrogel for knee osteoarthritis is a developing area. A 2024 randomised controlled study compared a single polyacrylamide hydrogel injection with hyaluronic acid in people with symptomatic and radiographic knee osteoarthritis. The study assessed pain and other outcomes over 26 weeks. However, more recent follow-up research has examined outcomes over three and five years. A 2026 publication found sustained improvements in pain and function following a single injection, although longer-term extension data should be interpreted in the context of study design and participant follow-up.

This is encouraging, but no injection is suitable for everyone. A thorough assessment remains important before deciding whether Arthrosamid treatment is appropriate.

One of the most important questions to ask before any injection is: “Do I actually need this injection?”

A responsible clinical assessment should consider a variety of treatment options appropriate for the patient rather than assuming that an injection is automatically the answer. Depending on your clinical diagnosis, treatment may involve physiotherapy, exercise-based rehabilitation, activity modification, medication, an injection or a combination of approaches. In some circumstances, an injection may not be appropriate at all.

That is why our approach starts with specialist assessment. Our Consultant Specialists provide expert assessment and determine the most appropriate management plan, rather than treating the injection as an isolated procedure.

Meet our Consultant Specialists

If you are comparing clinics, consider asking who will assess you, who will administer your injection and what happens before and after the procedure. You should also ask how the diagnosis was established, why the particular injection has been recommended, what alternatives are available and what rehabilitation or follow-up is included.

These questions will really help you understand the difference between simply booking an injection and receiving a comprehensive clinical treatment pathway.

At Pure Sports Medicine, injections form part of our wider approach to musculoskeletal medicine. Our Consultant Specialists have expertise in diagnosing and managing sports injuries and musculoskeletal conditions, with services including ultrasound diagnosis and ultrasound-guided injections.

For patients considering PRP treatment, this means your suitability can be assessed by a medical specialist before treatment. For those considering an Arthrosamid knee injection, it means the decision can be made within the context of your symptoms, diagnosis, medical history and treatment goals.

We bring specialist medicine and Physiotherapy together, so your care can extend beyond the injection itself.

Whether you are looking for PRP therapy in London, researching PRP injection costs, trying to understand what PRP stands for, or comparing an Arthrosamid injection with other options for knee osteoarthritis, the starting point should always be the same: Obtain a trustworthy opinion, understand your diagnosis, your treatment options, and then decide whether an injection is right for you.

At Pure Sports Medicine, that conversation starts with specialist assessment.