Extracorporeal Shockwave Therapy In Patients With Lateral Epicondylitis

Aim: The aim of this study is to investigate the short and mid term effects of extracorporeal shock wave theraphy (ESWT) in lateral epicondylitis (LE). Method: Fifty six elbows of 48 patients (35 female, 13 male) which were applied ESWT at least for 3 sessions for lateral epicondylitis were retrospectively evaluated. VAS scores recorded before treatment and scores recorded at first week and 3rd month after treatment and clinical evaluation scores for LE of Werhaar et al were evaluated. Results: Significant recovery was found when pain levels before and after treatment were compared. The mean pain score before treatment decreased to 4,82±1,87 at 1st week and to 3,98±2,07 from 7,07±1,73. According to Verhaar LE evaluation score, the number of good and excellent scores were increased while the number of bad scores decreased. Conclusion: As ESWT is a painless, effective method with less side effects, it is a method to perform before surgery in cases which did not respond to other conservative treatment modalities. Key Words: Extracorporeal Shockwave therapy, Lateral Epicondylitis DOI: 10.12973/ejms.2014.126p