Lateral epicondylitis: a review of pathology and management.

Lateral epicondylitis, or 'tennis elbow', is a common condition that usually affects patients between 35 and 55 years of age. It is generally self-limiting, but in some patients it may continue to cause persistent symptoms, which can be refractory to treatment. This review discusses the mechanism of disease, symptoms and signs, investigations, current management protocols and potential new treatments.

[Treatment of epicondylitis - a current review]. / Die Therapie der Epicondylitis - eine aktuelle Übersicht.

Lateral epicondylitis or tennis elbow is a common injury, which affects not only people who play tennis but occurs with many different activities. It reflects overuse of the extensor muscles of the forearm. There are some other pathologies which have to be separated from epicondylitis. The choice of different treatments is hard to overlook and there are only a few good clinical trials which support one treatment option by means of evidence based medicine. During the acute phase topical NSAIR, steroid injections, ultrasound and acupuncture are helpful. There is no consensus about the effectiveness of physiotherapy, orthoses, laser, electrotherapy or botulinumtoxininjections. During the chronic phase none of the different treatment modalities is effective according to criterias of evidence based medicine. By now, it has not been proven whether patients profit during that time of physiotherapy, orthoses, extracorporeal shock wave therapy or an operation. Whether orthobiological treatment options may play a role in the future is presently uncertain.

Elbow injuries in golf.

Golf is not a sport known for its high injury level; however, injuries do occur. Such mishaps usually involve overuse-type injuries that are more common among amateur golfers than among professional golfers. This article attempts to provide an overview of golf injuries to the elbow, with a concentration on incidence, proper diagnosis, adequate treatment (including rehabilitation), and prevention strategies. After reading this article, primary care physicians should be able to manage most golfing injuries to the elbow.

Lateral tennis elbow: "Is there any science out there?".

As orthopaedic surgeons, we are besieged by myths that guide our treatment of lateral epicondylitis, or "tennis elbow." This extends from the term used to describe the condition to the nonoperative and operative treatments as well. The term epicondylitis suggests an inflammatory cause; however, in all but 1 publication examining pathologic specimens of patients operated on for this condition, no evidence of acute or chronic inflammation is found. Numerous nonoperative modalities have been described for the treatment of lateral tennis elbow. Most are lacking in sound scientific rationale. This has led to a therapeutic nihilism with respect to the nonoperative management of this condition. An examination of the literature can only lead us to believe that most, if not all, common nonoperative therapeutic modalities used for the treatment of tennis elbow are unproven at best or costly and time-consuming at worst. Most of the published literature on the nonoperative treatment of patients with lateral tennis elbow consists of poorly designed trials. The selection criteria are nebulous, the control group is questionably designed, and the number of patients is often too low to avoid a serious loss of study power. These studies therefore have a high beta error, implying an inability to detect a difference between groups, even if one truly existed. If clinical signs and symptoms persist beyond the limit of acceptability of both patient and surgeon, then an array of surgical options are available. These range from a 10-minute office procedure (the percutaneous release of the extensor origin with the patient under local anesthetic) to an extensive joint denervation, in which all radial nerve branches ramifying to the lateral epicondyle are directly or indirectly divided. How is the surgeon to choose, given the fact that most of the published surgical studies are case series of one type of operation or another, consisting of patients operated on and evaluated by the same surgeon, who has a vested interest in his or her own patients' successful outcome? The orthopaedic surgeon therefore has very little on which to "hang his hat" when it comes to objective data to guide treatment of patients with lateral tennis elbow syndrome. In the final analysis we are guided simply by our own subjective viewpoint and clinical experience. In 1999, to have such a common clinical condition have such a paucity of peer-reviewed published data of acceptable scientific quality is disappointing. In this review article we will examine the "myths" of tennis elbow: the name, the salient features on history and physical examination, the diagnostic modalities, the pathology of the "lesion," the anatomy of the lateral elbow and extensor origin and why it has led to such confusion in differential diagnosis, the nonoperative and operative treatment of tennis elbow, and finally the various studies that have been carried out on elbow biomechanics as it relates to the pathoetiology of true "tennis elbow." It is our hope that the reader will emerge with a clearer picture of the pathoetiology of the condition and the scientific rationale (or lack thereof) of the various operative and nonoperative treatment modalities.

Bilateral epicondylitis in a karate instructor.

Epicondylitis can be a debilitating condition that restricts activity and causes pain. Severe cases can require surgical repair. Early and thorough assessment and instituting treatment expeditiously will help prevent lengthy rehabilitation. It is well documented that sports requiring repetitive wrist movements or tension overloading of wrist extensors, such as racquet sports and bowling, are associated with the development of epicondylitis. In this case study, the sport of karate precipitated this condition in a 38-year-old instructor. The significance of karate as a possible risk factor in epicondylitis is important given the proliferation of karate schools, especially those for children.

Tennis elbow: a biomechanical and therapeutic approach.

Lateral epicondylitis, one of the most common lesions of the arm, affects some 50% of tennis players. This condition poses a problem in clinical management because treatment is dependent not only on proper medical therapy but also on correction of the improper on-court biomechanics. The most common flaw is a late contact on the backhand groundstroke, forcing the player to extend the wrist with the extensor muscles. This action predisposes to trauma of the tendon fibers at the lateral epicondyle. Understanding the biomechanics will better prepare the physician to advise the patient and to communicate with a tennis teaching professional to facilitate long-term relief.

Chronic lateral humeral epicondylitis--a double-blind controlled assessment of pulsed electromagnetic field therapy.

Pulsed electromagnetic fields (PEMF) have been shown to be beneficial in the treatment of rotator cuff tendinitis. As lateral humeral epicondylitis (tennis elbow) is a similar chronic tendon lesion, 30 patients with both clinical and thermographic evidence of tennis elbow were randomly allocated to receive either active or inactive PEMF therapy. Treatment was continued for a minimum period of eight weeks. At this time there was no statistical difference between the two groups.