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Radial epicondylalgia (‘tennis elbow'): treatment with stretching or forearm band. A prospective study with long‐term follow‐up including range‐of‐motion measurements
Author(s) -
Sölveborn S.A.
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
scandinavian journal of medicine and science in sports
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.575
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1600-0838
pISSN - 0905-7188
DOI - 10.1111/j.1600-0838.1997.tb00145.x
Subject(s) - medicine , tennis elbow , forearm , elbow , range of motion , palpation , visual analogue scale , physical therapy , tenderness , epicondylitis , upper limb , prospective cohort study , epicondyle , physical medicine and rehabilitation , surgery
Stretching or upper forearm bands were used in the treatment of radial epicondylalgia (‘tennis elbow') in a prospective study of 185 patients. The two consecutive series did not differ with respect to, for example, age (median 43 years), gender (57% men), symptom duration (mean 12 months) and symptomatic elbow (68% right), and were examined before and after 1 month of treatment, then at 3 and 9 months, and at a longterm follow‐up (44/33 months). The 94 stretching‐treated patients were instructed to perform home exercises twice daily, but were also treated at six physiotherapist sessions the first month. The other 91 patients were told to use a prescribed proximal forearm band in daily activities as much as possible. Both treatments were successful with a continuous symptom reduction, but the outcome was statistically significant in favour of stretching at all follow‐ups, as assessed by subjective evaluation on a visual analogue pain scale, tabulated pain and condition alternatives on questionnaires, and objective findings such as palpation tenderness at the radial epicondyle, the (Mills') ‘tennis elbow pain test’, and range‐of‐motion. Practically all measured range‐of‐motions were restricted in both groups before treatment and did increase with stretching during the follow‐up period, while the various changes in the forearm band group were statistically non‐significant.