Effect of neural therapy versus extracorporeal shock wave therapy for the treatment of lateral epicondylitis: A randomized-controlled trial

Abstract

IntroductionLateral epicondylitis is a common disease of the elbow joint. The main goal of therapy is to reduce pain and increase function. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of neural therapy (NT) versus extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) in the treatment of lateral epicondylitis. MethodsBetween August 2018 and November 2018, 76 patients with lateral epicondylitis (26 males, 50 females; mean age: 44, 8 ± 9,5 years; range, 29–65 years) were randomly allocated to either NT or ESWT one session weekly for a total of three weeks. The subjective pain severity was evaluated using the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) and Duruoz Hand Index (DHI) was used to assess the functional disability before and after treatment and at 12 weeks. ResultsWhen the before and after treatment and 12 weeks variances of values were compared between ESWT and NT groups, there were no significant differences in the VAS and DHI scores between the groups(p > 0.05)(VAS score at 12 weeks (effect size = 0, 18, 95% confidence interval (CI): -0,358−1,619) or DHI score (effect size = 0, 13, 95 % CI: -7,627−4,390). However, within the groups, there were significant differences in VAS and DHI scores between before treatment and after treatment(P < 0.05), and between before treatment and at 12 weeks follow up (P < 0.05). No adverse events occured in this study. ConclusionThe results of this study show that both ESWT and NT have similar effects in reducing pain and hand function in patients with lateral epicondylitis. However neither of two the treatment modalities showed superiority.