Treatment Study of Steroid Injection and Physical Therapy for Acute Lateral Epicondylitis

• Status: Completed
• Trial end date: 2013-06-01
• Target enrollment: 0
• Participant gender: All

Summary

The purpose of this study is to compare the clinical effect of physiotherapy alone or combined with corticosteroid injection in the initial treatment of lateral epicondylitis in a primary care setting.

To find the short and long term effect of physiotherapy with Mill's manipulation, deep friction massage and exercise therapy.

To ascertain wether the outcome is influenced by corticosteroid injection, which has been shown to be of benefit alone in the short term?

• Phase: Phase 4
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers?: No

Details

• Lead Sponsor: University of Oslo
• Collaborator: Allmennmedisinsk forskningsfond, Norway
• Treatments: Lidocaine; Naproxen; Triamcinolone; Triamcinolone Acetonide; Triamcinolone diacetate; Triamcinolone hexacetonide

Criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

• Age 18-70 years

• Pain from the lateral part of the elbow

• The pain increases on resisted dorsiflexion of the wrist with the elbow extended and the fingers flexed or the pain increases on resisted radial deviation of the wrist or the pain increases on resisted extension of the 3. finger

Exclusion Criteria:

• Duration of complaints less than 2 weeks or more than 3 months

• The tenderness is located within the muscle body itself in the proximal part of the short radial extensors muscle of the wrist (Cyriax type IV)9.

• Treatment within the last 12 months for the same condition with corticosteroid injection or physiotherapy

• Bilateral complaints

• Previous surgical treatment for lateral epicondylitis

• Deformities of the elbow (congenital or acquired)

• Cervical radiculopathy or referred pain from neck or shoulder

• Previous fractures or tendon ruptures in the elbow

• Systemic musculoskeletal disease

• Previous allergic reactions to corticosteroids or lidocaine

• Contraindications to corticosteroids or NSAIDs:

• On-going or previous gastro-intestinal bleeding

• previous ulcer or dyspepsia, severe asthma

• on-going systemic infection

• local skin-infection

• recently vaccinated with live virus

• coagulopathies

• SLE

• severe liver- or kidney-disease

• heart failure

• diabetes

• use of warfarin or NSAIDS

• Pregnancy or breast-feeding

• Fertile females not on effective birth control

• Psycho-social or other reasons for not being able to participate throughout the study.