Physical therapy, Injections, and Surgery for Tennis Elbow Pain

We frequently see people who are still experiencing Elbow pain. They continue to receive and heal themselves using conventional, or “conservative,” treatments including rest, icing, painkillers, Kinesio tape, and a variety of other medical interventions like physical therapy, massage, cortisone injections, and even acupuncture. While some patients will benefit from these procedures, the ones that visit our practice haven’t.

They have an appointment for one of the numerous surgeries frequently recommended to treat lateral epicondylitis. Most patients will be advised to have their tissue removed if it is “too far gone” to be rescued by a debridement. For many people, removing tissue might not be the best course of action. These people will get in touch with us to talk about the reasonable surgery options we have to offer.

Office employees and labourers both have tennis elbow

The likelihood is high that those who are reading this have never played tennis before and have been given a tennis elbow diagnosis. Tennis elbow has affected people who were woodworkers, mountain climbers, office professionals, landscapers, golfers, and more. Many have never touched a racquet.

The term “tennis elbow” (lateral epicondylitis) refers to severe elbow tendonitis as well as any swelling, discomfort, or pain that occurs on the lateral (outside) side of the upper arm, close to the elbow.

Common extensor tendinosis or a partial tear in the tendon fibres that connect muscle to bone are the usual causes. The new term, tendinosis, refers to the chronic injury when inflammatory cells are no longer visible but the tendon is worn. When referring to tendinopathies, the traditional term tendinitis refers to the acute (recent) inflammatory stage of tendon injury.

One of the signs is pain in the elbow that gradually gets worse and spreads to the forearm and the back of the hand.

Stem Cell Therapy Tennis Elbow patients may not benefit from the standard therapies of “wait, rest, and medication for pain alleviation.” Many patients are not on the fast track to recovery since it will take time. Most patients would rather have their recovery process accelerated so they may move on with their lives. As a result, they experiment with various things. Some labour. Others don’t.

Why physical therapy, sleeves, and tape did not relieve your tennis elbow discomfort

Some people find considerable comfort in getting elbow sleeves or taping up their elbows. It’s a good thing if it helps. However, many people find that using ace bandages, kinesiotape, and sleeves is ineffective. Physical therapy can be quite beneficial for certain people.

In a July 2019 study (1), physical therapy was given to three groups of patients with newly developed elbow pain, ten in each group. They would get therapy and taping in the physical therapist’s office.

Exercises and kinesiotaping were given to ten patients.

Ten patients received exercises in addition to sham taping (tape that would not benefit).

Only exercises were given to ten patients.

Findings:

“Kinesiotaping combined with exercises is more effective than sham taping and exercises alone in reducing pain during daily activities and arm impairment caused by lateral epicondylitis.” In other words, the elbow degeneration issue was not resolved by the conservative treatment choice of kinesiotaping.

However, despite this, consumers continue to purchase pricey elbow braces online. Why? as a lot of patients claim. “I find comfort in it.”

Rest, kinesiotaping, and cortisone They are merely temporary solutions for tennis elbow pain, according to one study.

In a March 2021 study (2), early Kinesio tape findings for treating lateral epicondylitis were compared with those of corticosteroid injection and the rest-and-drug group. Kinesio tape was used on 20 patients (21 elbows) and corticosteroid injection was used on 15 patients among the fifty patients (53 elbows) (17 elbows).

The group that received medication and rest consisted of fifteen patients. Patients in the “rest and medication” group were made aware of their condition and provided any necessary precautions. There were no suggested oral or topical therapies. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications (NSAIDs) or paracetamol were recommended as needed.

At the end of the second week, statistically significant improvements were seen in all test results (pain and function).

All three groups showed statistically significant gains by the conclusion of the fourth week, but these improvements were not as great as they had been in the first two weeks.

The functional ratings in the corticosteroid injection and rest and medicine groups both slightly declined, but the Kinesio tape group kept improving.

At the fourth week, there was no discernible difference between the corticosteroid, rest-and-medication, and Kinesio tape groups

Conclusions: At the end of week two, corticosteroid, Kinesio tape, rest, and medication treatments were all beneficial in reducing pain and improving functional ratings; the only treatment that persisted in being effective in week three was Kinesio tape.

Comparison of Kinesio taping, extracorporeal shock wave therapy, and ultrasound therapy

A study published in February 2021 (23) compared the clinical and sonographic effects of Kinesio taping (KT), extracorporeal shock wave therapy, and ultrasound therapy on the lateral epicondylitis. There were 40 lateral epicondylitis patients in all. Three treatment groups — ultrasound (US) therapy, ESWT, and Kinesio taping — were randomly allocated to the patients.

All groups experienced a significant reduction in pain scores. Only the Kinesio tape significantly improved grip strength after eight weeks (KT). The Patient-Rated Tennis Elbow Evaluation Scale (PRTEE) ratings revealed significant reductions in elbow pain and disability after 2 weeks, after 8 weeks, and after 16 weeks in the groups receiving ultrasound (US) therapy, ESWT, and Kinesio taping. After 8 weeks, only the extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) group’s common extensor tendon (CET) thicknesses considerably decreased.

According to the study, all three therapies are efficient at lowering pain and enhancing functionality. None of these Stem Cell Therapy Tennis Elbow approaches, however, was discovered to be more effective than the rest at reducing pain and enhancing functionality.

All groups experienced a significant reduction in pain scores. Only the Kinesio tape significantly improved grip strength after eight weeks (KT). The Patient-Rated Tennis Elbow Evaluation Scale (PRTEE) ratings revealed significant reductions in elbow pain and disability after 2 weeks, after 8 weeks, and after 16 weeks in the groups receiving ultrasound (US) therapy, ESWT, and Kinesio taping. After 8 weeks, only the extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) group’s common extensor tendon (CET) thicknesses considerably decreased.

According to the study, all three therapies are efficient at lowering pain and enhancing functionality. None of these Elbow pain approaches, however, was discovered to be more effective than the rest at reducing pain and enhancing functionality.