Effectiveness of Radial Extracorporeal Shock Wave Therapy and Supervised Exercises in Lateral Epicondylitis

Comparison of the Effectiveness of Radial Extracorporeal Shock Wave Therapy and Supervised Exercises in the Treatment of Lateral Epicondylitis: A Randomized Controlled Trial

No consensus has yet been built on the treatment of lateral epicondylitis (LE) due to the lack of evidence. Although conflicting results are present, radial extracorporeal shock wave therapy (rESWT) has increasingly been used in the treatment of tendinopathy

ESWT and exercise have beneficial effects on the management of tendinopathies owing to their various mechanisms that showed therapeutic efficacy. Owing to its positive outcomes, extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) has recently been used in the treatment of musculoskeletal system diseases such as plantar fasciitis, Achilles tendinopathy, calcific rotator cuff tendinopathies, and patellar tendinopathy

Inclusion Criteria:

• The diagnosis of LE was made in the clinical examination, and the diagnosis was confirmed with the Southampton Diagnostic Criteria of "the presence of epicondyle pain, and epicondyle pain and tenderness on resisted extension of the wrist.
• Patients with symptoms lasting longer than 3 months
• with average pain in the previous week detected as 3 or above on a 10-cm visual analogue scale (VAS)
• who were aged over 18 years

Exclusion Criteria:

• pain in the proximal part of the affected extremity (e.g. shoulder pain, neck pain)
• abnormal neurogenic symptoms (e.g. radicular pain, numbness) on the affected extremity
• presence of posterior interosseous nerve entrapment
• congenital or acquired upper extremity deformities that might affect grip strength
• systemic musculoskeletal system or neurologic disorders
• systemic rheumatologic disease or systemic infection
• presence of malignancy, coagulation disorders, and anticoagulant use
• inserted cardiac pacemaker
• history of surgical treatment on the elbow of the affected extremity
• pregnancy.
• patients who were administered other treatments such as physical therapy or steroid injections in the last 3 months