Comparison of efficacy of ultrasound-guided platelet rich plasma injection versus dry needling in lateral epicondylitis-a randomised controlled trial.

PURPOSE: To assess whether Ultrasound guided dry needling is adequate for both common extensor tendon tears and tendinosis or whether ultrasound guided platelet rich plasma (PRP) has a superior outcome when compared to dry needling when there are tears of the common extensor tendon. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This is a single-centre, single-blinded, randomised controlled trial conducted between November 2018 and April 2020. 40 patients diagnosed with lateral epicondylitis based on clinical and sonographic features and having comparable baseline characteristics were randomly assigned to the two study groups (dry needling and PRP). Inclusion criteria were patients aged 20 years or more who were symptomatic for at least 3 months with sonographic evidence of lateral epicondylitis. Exclusion criteria were complete tear of common extensor tendon confirmed on ultrasound and presence of other associated diseases like osteoarthritis of shoulder and elbow. RESULTS: There was significant improvement in the visual analogue scale pain score in PRP group compared to the dry needling group at 9 months. However, this difference was not evident at 3 and 6 months follow-up. Mean improvement in common extensor tendon thickness in PRP group (5.1 mm at 3 months and 4.3 mm at 6 months) was slightly better than dry needling (4.4 mm at 3 months and 4.0 mm at 6 months). There was no difference in tear (if present) healing between both groups at 3 months. However at 6 months follow up, PRP demonstrated significant (mean-2.5) healing in tear compared to dry needling (mean-3.1). CONCLUSION: Two injections of Ultrasound guided PRP are more beneficial non operative treatment compared to ultrasound guided dry needling, in lateral epicondylitis.

Ultrasound-guided injection of platelet-rich plasma for tendinopathies: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: In this systematic review and meta-analysis, we evaluated ultrasound (US)-guided injections of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) as conservative treatment of tendinopathies. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, SCOPUS, OVID, and the Cochrane Library to identify randomized controlled trials (RCT) on the use of US-guided PRP for tendinopathies. RESULTS: We found 33 RCT (2,025 subjects) that met our inclusion criteria: 8 in lateral epicondylitis, 5 in plantar fasciitis, 5 in Achilles tendinopathy, 7 in rotator cuff tendinopathy, 3 in patellar tendinopathy and 5 in carpal tunnel syndrome. PRP, given as a single injection (20 trials) or multiple injections (13 trials), was compared to US-guided injection of steroids, saline, autologous whole blood, local anesthetic, dry needling, prolotherapy, bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells, or with non-injective interventions. The outcomes more commonly reported included pain and functional measures, subgrouped as in the short-term (<3 months from the intervention), medium-term (3 to 6 months) or long-term (≥12 months). No clear between-group differences in these outcomes were observed in patients with lateral epicondylitis, plantar fasciitis, or Achilles, rotator cuff or patellar tendinopathy. In patients with carpal tunnel syndrome, visual analog scale scores for pain at 3 and 6 months and Boston Carpal Tunnel Questionnaire severity scores at 1, 3 and 6 months were significantly lower in PRP recipients than in controls. The certainty of evidence of all these comparisons was graded as low or very low due to risk of bias, imprecision and/or inconsistency. Pain at the injection site was more common among PRP recipients than among controls receiving other US-guided injections. DISCUSSION: In patients with tendinopathies, a trend towards pain reduction and functional improvement from baseline was observed after US-guided PRP injection, but in the majority of the comparisons, the effect size was comparable to that observed in control groups.

The comparison of the effectiveness of Kinesio Taping and dry needling in the treatment of lateral epicondylitis: a clinical and ultrasonographic study.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to investigate the short- and long-term effects of Kinesio Taping (KT) and dry needling (DN) applications on pain, functionality, and muscle strength in patients with lateral epicondylitis by use of questionnaires and ultrasonography. METHODS: Seventy-eight patients were randomized into 3 groups. Each group followed a program that consisted of 9 treatment sessions in total, with 3 sessions per week for 3 weeks. Group 1 received KT and performed exercise, group 2 received DN and performed exercise, and group 3 performed exercise alone. Pain, functional status, grip strength, and the thickness and echogenicity of the common extensor tendon were evaluated before treatment, after treatment (at the end of the third week), and after 6 months. RESULTS: In intragroup evaluations, KT and DN were found to be effective in the short and long term in terms of pain, functional status, muscle strength, and tendon thickness (P < .01). In intergroup evaluations, improvement in the KT and DN groups was superior to that in the control group for all parameters (P < .05). On comparison of the KT and DN groups, improvements in the clinical parameters and tendon thickness, heterogeneity, and elastography were significantly better in the DN group in the short and long term (P < .05). CONCLUSIONS: The ultrasonographic outcomes in our study objectively demonstrated that although DN in general is superior in the treatment of lateral epicondylitis, KT treatment is also effective.

Study on the effect of extra capsular arthroscopy plus analgesic tincture in the treatment of external humeral epicondylitis.

External humeral epicondylitis (EHE) is an inflammation and pain of the lateral tendons of the elbow with poor clinical efficacy. In this study, we aim to observe the effect of extra capsular arthroscopy (ECA) plus Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) analgesic tincture in the treatment of EHE. A retrospective analysis was performed on the follow-up data of 58 patients with intractable EHE treated by ECA plus TCM analgesic tincture over 2 years from January 2017 to October 2018. All patients were followed up during the operation, with a mean follow-up duration of 17.6 months. There were no complications such as infection, nerve injury, wound nonunion and joint stiffness. The postoperative and pronation angles were statistically different from preoperative. The visual analogue scale (VAS) score during rest and movement of the elbow joint after operation was significantly different from that before operation. Postoperative Mayo elbow joint function score was significantly different from preoperative. Postoperative elbow joint function and brachial and shoulder dysfunction scores were statistically significant compared with those before surgery. Postoperative elbow joint function and brachial and shoulder dysfunction scores were statistically significant compared with those before surgery. The satisfaction rate of patients was 100%, with 52 cases of completely satisfied, 6 cases of basically satisfied and no dissatisfied cases. The curative effect of external capsular arthroscopy plus analgesic tincture in the treatment of external humeral epicondylitis was promising, which was worthy of clinical promotion.

Effectiveness of standardized ultrasound guided percutaneous treatment of lateral epicondylitis with application of autologous blood, dextrose or perforation only on pain: a study protocol for a multi-center, blinded, randomized controlled trial with a 1 year follow up.

BACKGROUND: In the treatment of Lateral Epicondylitis (LE) no single intervention concerning injection therapies has been proven to be the most effective with regard to pain reduction. In this trial 3 injection therapies (perforation with application of autologous blood, perforation with application of dextrose and perforation only) will be compared in a standardized and ultrasound guided way. The objective is to assess the effectiveness of these 3 injection therapies on pain, quality of life and functional recovery. By conducting this study, we hope to make a statement on the effectiveness of injection therapy in the treatment of LE. Hereby, unnecessary treatments can be avoided, a more universal method of treatment can be established and the quality of the treatment can be improved. METHODS/DESIGN: A multicenter, randomized controlled trial with a superiority design and 12 months follow-up will be conducted in four Dutch hospitals. One hundred sixty five patients will be recruited in the age of 18 to 65 years, with chronic symptomatic lateral epicondylitis lasting longer than 6 weeks, which have concordant pain during physical examination. Patients will be randomized by block randomization to one of the three treatment arms. The treatment will be blinded for patients and outcome assessors. The following three injection therapies are compared: perforation with application of autologous blood, perforation with application of dextrose and perforation only. Injections will be performed ultrasound guided in a standardized and automated way. The primary endpoint is: pain (change in 'Visual Analogue Scale'). Secondary endpoints are quality of life and functional recovery. These measurements are collected at baseline, 8 weeks, 5 months and 1 year after treatment. DISCUSSION: When completed, this trial will provide evidence on the effectiveness of injection therapy in the treatment of lateral epicondylitis on pain, quality of life and functional recovery. In current literature proper comparison of the effectiveness of injectables for LE is questionable, due to the lack of standardization of the treatment. This study will overcome bias due to manually performed injection therapy. TRIAL REGISTRATION: This study is registered in the Trial Register ( www.trialregister.nl ) of the Dutch Cochrane centre. Trial ID; NTR4569. http://www.trialregister.nl/trialreg/admin/rctview.asp?TC=4569.

Ultrasonographic Evaluation of Acupuncture Effect on Common Extensor Tendon Thickness in Patients with Lateral Epicondylitis: A Randomized Controlled Study.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the effect of acupuncture on common extensor tendon (CET) thickness in patients with lateral epicondylitis (LE). Additionally, to identify whether clinical and ultrasonographic changes showed any correlation. METHODS: Forty-one patients were randomly assigned to acupuncture and control groups. Conventional treatment (rest, NSAII, bracing, exercise) methods for LE were applied to all patients. In addition to this, the acupuncture treatment was applied to the acupuncture group. The visual analog scale (VAS) for pain, the Duruoz Hand Index (DHI) for functioning of the affected limb, the pressure pain threshold, and CET thickness (via ultrasound imaging) were assessed before and end of the treatment in both groups. RESULTS: The VAS and DHI scores in both groups decreased. The pressure pain threshold and CET thickness only demonstrated improvement in the acupuncture group. CONCLUSION: These findings show that the CET thickness was reduced after 10 sessions of acupuncture treatment in LE patients.

Comparison of corticosteroid, autologous blood or sclerosant injections for chronic tennis elbow.

OBJECTIVES: To compare three different ultrasound-guided injections for chronic tennis elbow. DESIGN: Assessor-blinded, randomized controlled comparative trial. METHODS: 44 patients with clinically diagnosed tennis elbow, confirmed by Doppler ultrasound, received under ultrasound guidance, a single corticosteroid injection (n=14), or two injections (separated by 4 weeks) of either autologous blood (n=14) or polidocanol (n=16). Clinical and ultrasound examination was performed at baseline, 4, 12 and 26 weeks. RESULTS: Complete recovery or much improvement was greater for corticosteroid injection than autologous blood and polidocanol at 4 weeks (p<0.001, number needed to treat 1 (95% CI 1-2)). In contrast, at 26 weeks corticosteroid was significantly worse than polidocanol (p=0.004, number needed to harm 2 (1-6)). Recurrence after corticosteroid injection was significantly higher than autologous blood or polidocanol (p=0.007, number needed to harm 2 (1-4)). Corticosteroid injection produced greater reduction in tendon thickness and vascularity than autologous blood at 4 weeks only. Compared to autologous blood, polidocanol reduced tendon thickness at 4 and 12 weeks and reduced echogenicity and hyperaemia after 12 or 26 weeks respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Injections of corticosteroid cannot be recommended over polidocanol or autologous blood, because despite beneficial short-term effect there were inferior long-term effects. Whether polidocanol or autologous blood injections are effective is unknown, especially as their global effect profiles are not unlike previously reported for wait-and-see.

Hypertonic dextrose and morrhuate sodium injections (prolotherapy) for lateral epicondylosis (tennis elbow): results of a single-blind, pilot-level, randomized controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE: Chronic lateral epicondylosis is common, debilitating, and often refractory. Prolotherapy (PrT) is an injection therapy for tendinopathy. The efficacy of two PrT solutions for chronic lateral epicondylosis was evaluated. DESIGN: This study is a three-arm randomized controlled trial. Twenty-six adults (32 elbows) with chronic lateral epicondylosis for 3 mos or longer were randomized to ultrasound-guided PrT with dextrose solution, ultrasound-guided PrT with dextrose-morrhuate sodium solution, or watchful waiting ("wait and see"). The primary outcome was the Patient-Rated Tennis Elbow Evaluation (100 points) at 4, 8, and 16 wks (all groups) and at 32 wks (PrT groups). The secondary outcomes included pain-free grip strength and magnetic resonance imaging severity score. RESULTS: The participants receiving PrT with dextrose and PrT with dextrose-morrhuate reported improved Patient-Rated Tennis Elbow Evaluation composite and subscale scores at 4, 8, and/or 16 wks compared with those in the wait-and-see group (P < 0.05). At 16 wks, compared with baseline, the PrT with dextrose and PrT with dextrose-morrhuate groups reported improved composite Patient-Rated Tennis Elbow Evaluation scores by a mean (SE) of 18.7 (9.6; 41.1%) and 17.5 (11.6; 53.5%) points, respectively. The grip strength of the participants receiving PrT with dextrose exceeded that of the PrT with dextrose-morrhuate and the wait and see at 8 and 16 wks (P < 0.05). There were no differences in magnetic resonance imaging scores. Satisfaction was high; there were no adverse events. CONCLUSIONS: PrT resulted in safe, significant improvement of elbow pain and function compared with baseline status and follow-up data and the wait-and-see control group. This pilot study suggests the need for a definitive trial.

Medial epicondylitis: is ultrasound guided autologous blood injection an effective treatment?

OBJECTIVE: To assess if ultrasound guided autologous blood injection is an effective treatment for medial epicondylitis. METHODS: Twenty patients (13 men, 7 women) with refractory medial epicondylitis with symptom duration of 12 months underwent sonographic evaluation. Tendinosis was confirmed according to three sonographic criteria: echo texture, interstitial tears and neovascularity. The tendon was then dry needled and autologous blood was injected. Patients were reviewed at 4 weeks and at 10 months. VAS scores and modified Nirschl scores were assessed pre-procedure and post-procedure. RESULTS: There was significant reduction in VAS pain score between pre-procedure and 10 months post-procedure when it had a median (IQR) of 1.00 (1-1.75), range 0-7. The median (IQR) Nirschl score, which at pre-procedure was 6.00 (5-7), range 4-7, had decreased at 4 weeks to 4.00 (2.25-5), range 2-7, and at 10 months to 1.00 (1-1.75), range 0-7, revealing a significant decrease (z = 3.763, p<0.001). The hypo-echoic change in the flexor tendon significantly decreased between pre-procedure, when there was a mean (SD) of 6.45 (1.47), and at 10 months, when it was 3.85 (2.37) (p<0.001). Doppler ultrasound showed that neovascularity decreased between pre-procedure, when there was a mean (SD) of 6.10 (1.62), range 4-9, and at 10 months, when it was 3.60 (2.56), range 0-9 (p<0.001). DISCUSSION: The combined action of dry needling and autologous blood injection under ultrasound guidance appears to be an effective treatment for refractory medial epicondylitis as demonstrated by a significant decrease in VAS pain and a fall in the modified Nirschl scores.

Extracorporeal shock wave therapy in the treatment of chronic tendinopathies.

Many clinical trials have evaluated the use of extracorporeal shock wave therapy for treating patients with chronic tendinosis of the supraspinatus, lateral epicondylitis, and plantar fasciitis. Although extracorporeal shock wave therapy has been reported to be effective in some trials, in others it was no more effective than placebo. The multiple variables associated with this therapy, such as the amount of energy delivered, the method of focusing the shock waves, frequency and timing of delivery, and whether or not anesthetics are used, makes comparing clinical trials difficult. Calcific tendinosis of the supraspinatus and plantar fasciitis have been successfully managed with extracorporeal shock wave therapy when nonsurgical management has failed. Results have been mixed in the management of lateral epicondylitis, however, and this therapy has not been effective in managing noncalcific tendinosis of the supraspinatus. Extracorporeal shock wave therapy has consistently been more effective with patient feedback, which enables directing the shock waves to the most painful area (clinical focusing), rather than with anatomic or image-guided focusing, which are used to direct the shock wave to an anatomic landmark or structure.

Ultrasound-guided autologous blood injection for tennis elbow.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the efficacy of autologous blood injection under sonographic guidance for the treatment of lateral epicondylitis. DESIGN AND PATIENTS: Thirty-five patients (23 men, 12 women, mean age 40.9) with refractory lateral epicondylitis (mean symptom duration 13.8 months) underwent sonographic evaluation prior to dry-needling the tendon and injection with autologous blood. Patients were reviewed, and measures of Nirschl and Visual Analogue Scores (VAS) were taken pre-procedure and post-procedure, at 4 weeks and 6 months. RESULTS: Following autologous blood injections, significant reductions were reported for Nirschl scores, which decreased from a median (inter-quartile range) pre-procedure score of 6 (6-7), to 4 (2-5) at 4 weeks (p < 0.001), and to 0 (0-1) at 6 months (p < 0.001). Similarly, significant reductions were reported for VAS scores from a median (inter-quartile range) pre-procedure score of 9 (8-10), to 6 (3-8) at 4 weeks (p < 0.001), and to 0 (0-1) at 6 months (p < 0.001). Sonography demonstrated a reduction in the total number of interstitial cleft formations and anechoic foci; a significant reduction in tendon thickness from a mean (SD) of 5.15 mm (0.79) at baseline to 4.82 mm (0.62) at 6 months post-procedure (p < 0.001) was observed. Hypoechoic change significantly reduced from a median (inter-quartile range) of 7 (6-7) at baseline to 2 (1-3) at 6 months post-procedure (p < 0.001). Neovascularity also significantly decreased from a median (inter-quartile range) of 6 (4-7) at baseline to 1 (0-3) at 6 months post-procedure (p < 0.001), although sonographic abnormality remained in many asymptomatic patients. CONCLUSIONS: Autologous blood injection is a primary technique for the treatment of lateral epicondylitis. Sonography can be used to guide injections and monitor changes to the common extensor origin.