A STUDY OF LOCAL CORTICOSTEROIDS INJECTION vs DRY NEEDLING IN LATERAL EPICONDYLITIS

Abstract

Lateral epicondylitis is also known as a Tennis elbow is a common disease of middle age which is painful and functionally limiting entity affecting the upper extremity & causes decreased productivity. The rst line treatment for LE is topical and oral anti-inammatory drugs from ice st applications and brace used. If the 1 line treatment fails second line treatment generally invasive are offered and second-line therapeutic regimens include saline, corticosteroid or platelet-rich plasma injections. Dry needling is relatively new for treating the same. We hypothesized that dry needling would be as effective as second-line treatment for LE. Here we compared the outcomes of second-line treatment, local steroids and dry needling. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study involved 50 patients having LE, dividing into 2 groups. Patients in group 1 received dry needling, where as those in group 2 received second-line treatment, consisting of local corticosteroid injections. The patients were evaluated after 2 and 4 weeks on the bases of Patients – rated tennis elbow evaluation score (PRTEE). RESULTS:Both treatment were equally effective at 2 and 4 weeks. The effectiveness of both are same and both intervals but someone dry needling has low complications rate in compare to local steroids. CONCLUSION: Because of the low complication rate, dry needling is a safe method, and it might be an effective treatment option for LE same as the second line treatment of local corticosteroid injections.