Comparison of treatment effects on lateral epicondylitis between myofascial release technique and extracorporeal shock wave therapy

In this study, 28 patients (M/F:14/14) diagnosed with lateral epicondylitis, aged 25-46, who applied to Bursa Aritmi Osmangazi Hospital, were evaluated for the effect of electroshock wave therapy (ESWT) and myofascial release (MFR) technique on pain, grip strength and functionality values. The group distribution was randomized using the draw method. For the first group, ESWT application with exercise program and cold application were planned and for the second group MFR technique with exercise program and cold application were planned. In our study, Visual Analog Scale (VAS), Dynamometer, Patient Rated Tennis Elbow Evaluation-T (PRTEE-T) and Short Form-36 (SF-36) were used to determine pain, grip strength, functional level and quality of life. Statistical analysis was performed with SPSS 22.0 Win 64 version. Statistically, pre-and post-treatment variations were analysed with Mann-Whitney-U Test and Wilcoxon Test in the groups. In consequence of our study; In the pre-treatment and post-treatment comparisons, both techniques showed improvement and ESWT was more effective in many values (p≤0.05). Key words: lateral epicondylitis, ESWT, myofascial release, exercise, pain, grip strength, PRTEE