Dry needling in lateral epicondylitis: A prospective controlled study

Abstract

Lateral epicondylitis is a chronic disease characterized by inflammation and pain at origin of extensor muscles of forearm. Anti-inflammatory drugs, brace, physiotherapy and curtailing repetitive activities are some of the conservative first line treatment options available. Our study compared the pain relief and the improvement in functional disability with dry needling (group I) as compared to NSAIDS with brace (group II) in lateral epicondylitis patients. Patients were enrolled consecutively and randomized into two groups. After calculating and noting PRTEE (Patient rated tennis elbow evaluation score) scores in both groups, patients in group I were treated with dry needling and patients in group II were given NSAIDS with brace. Patients were instructed not to use any other measure for relief of pain. They were re-evaluated at 3 weeks and 6 months using PRTEE. The statistical analysis was performed using SPSS software. In both groups significant differences were detected at 3 weeks follow up. Dry needling was found to be effective at both 3 weeks and 6 months but the group II (NSAIDS and forearm brace) showed no effects at 6 months follow up. We conclude that dry needling is a viable treatment modality for lateral epicondylitis.