Comparison of extracorporeal shock wave therapy in acute and chronic lateral epicondylitis

Objective: The aim of this study is to evaluate and compare the results of extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) in the treatment of acute (< 3 months) lateral epicondylitis (LE) and chronic (>6 months) LE groups. Methods: Fifty-four patients who were diagnosed with LE and treated with BTL-5000 SWT Power (BTL Turkiye Medikal Cihazlar, Ankara, Turkey) ESWT were included in the study. Twenty-four patients who had symptoms for < 3 months were defined as the acute LE group (Group A), and 30 patients who had symptoms for >6 months were defined as the chronic LE group (Group B). All cases were evaluated pretherapy and at Weeks 2, 12, and 24 posttherapy according to pain while resting, pain while stretching, pain when pressed, pain while lifting chair, pain while working, nighttime pain on LE zone. Results: Almost all values in both Group A and Group B were significantly improved at Weeks 2, 12, and 24 compared to the baseline values. Conclusion: ESWT is equally effective in the treatment of acute LE and chronic LE. In addition, the current data suggest the progression of LE cases from acute phase to chronic phase may be prevented by treatment with ESWT.