Nonoperative Management of Lateral Epicondyle Tendinopathy: An Umbrella Review

Abstract

Objective: The primary objective of this review was to summarize systematic reviews and meta-analyses reporting on nonoperative management of lateral epicondyle tendinopathy.

Methods: An umbrella review of all published systematic reviews and meta-analyses was performed. Three databases were searched using the key words "tennis elbow," "lateral epicondylitis," "non-operative," and "non-surgical modalities." The search was limited to English-language systematic reviews and meta-analyses between the years of 2000 and 2022.

Results: There were 114 systematic reviews/meta-analyses, of which 35 met our inclusion criteria. These articles reviewed the following nonoperative management strategies: ultrasound, shockwave therapy, injection procedures, low-level laser therapy, joint mobilizations, exercise therapy, and electrophysical modalities. Exercise therapy was beneficial in decreasing pain regardless of dosage or type. Conflicting results were seen with ultrasound, laser, and shockwave therapy. Corticosteroid injections provided the most short-term pain relief, and platelet-rich plasma and autologous blood injections were most effective in the long term.

Conclusion: A variety of nonoperative interventions were found to be effective for short- and long-term pain relief as well as functional improvement, with most interventions indicating mixed results. Due to variations in study populations and study quality, results should be interpreted with caution.

Keywords: Conservative Treatment; Exercise Therapy; Injections; Physical Therapy Modalities; Tennis Elbow.

Fig 1

PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) flow diagram.