Comparative effectiveness of extracorporeal shock wave therapy, local corticosteroid injection, and conventional physiotherapy in treatment of chronic lateral epicondylitis

Background Lateral epicondylitis (LE) is a popular overuse syndrome involving the forearm's extensor tendons. Corticosteroid (CS) injection is the popular injection used for management of LE. Extracorporeal shockwave therapy (ESWT) is a noninvasive alternative inducing the neovascularization, tendon repairing, and decreasing pain. Our study aimed to compare the effectiveness of ESWT versus local CS injection versus conventional physiotherapy (PT) in management of chronic LE. Results Our results revealed that the three groups displayed a significant decrease of VAS score, decrease of PRTEE score, and increase of grip strength compared to baseline (P < 0.05) at 4 weeks and 12 weeks of follow-up. However, there was a significant decrease of VAS score in ESWT and CS groups more than PT group at 4 weeks follow-up (P < 0.05) while ESWT group displayed a considerable improvement in functional disability score (decrease in PRTEE score) more than CS and PT groups at 4 and 12 weeks of follow-up (P < 0.05), with no considerable change in HGS between the three groups. Conclusion ESWT, local CS injection, and conventional PT were efficient in management of chronic LE at 12 weeks of follow-up but ESWT had a higher effect decreasing pain and improving functional disability in daily life activity at short and long term follow-up.