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Lidocaine iontophoresis mediates analgesia in lateral epicondylalgia treatment
Author(s) -
Yarrobino Thomas E,
Kalbfleisch John H,
Ferslew Kenneth E,
Panus Peter C
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
physiotherapy research international
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.509
H-Index - 49
eISSN - 1471-2865
pISSN - 1358-2267
DOI - 10.1002/pri.338
Subject(s) - medicine , lidocaine , iontophoresis , anesthesia , analgesic , massage , physical therapy , radiology , alternative medicine , pathology
Background and Purpose . Iontophoresis transcutaneously delivers anti‐inflammatory and analgesic drugs for the treatment of musculoskeletal dysfunction. Lidocaine is a local anaesthetic with analgesic but no anti‐inflammatory properties. The purpose of this investigation was to examine the clinical use of lidocaine iontophoresis‐mediated analgesia in a larger treatment algorithm for five patients with lateral humeral epicondylalgia. Method . The investigation was a case series design of five subjects, aged 52 (±6) years, with epicondylalgia of 12–393 days' duration. At each treatment session, the patients received cryotherapy, cross‐fibre massage and passive stretch. Between sessions analgesia was provided by an 80 mA‐min low‐current, long‐duration lidocaine iontophoresis (LI) over a 24‐hour period. Patients were treated on an every‐other‐day basis for a total of three treatment sessions. Clinical improvements were determined by triplicate measurements of dolorimetric force over the affected epicondyle prior to treatment 1 (baseline), prior to sessions 2 and 3, and one week following the last session. Results . Patients demonstrated an increasing tolerance to dolorimetric force application prior to the next session. The force values prior to session 2 (3.1 (±1.1) Newton (N)) and one week following the third session (3.4 (±0.5) N) were significantly improved from the baseline values (2.1 (±0.9) N). Conclusions . Pain associated with lateral epicondylalgia decreased, and function improved in all patients at the final measurement. One patient returned during the 90‐day follow‐up period to seek additional medical attention. This investigation documents the potential for analgesia provided by LI in the rehabilitation process of musculoskeletal dysfunction. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.