Purpose: Lateral epicondylitis is a common cause of elbow pain in general population. We show the efficacy of a percutaneous treatment under US guidance in treating this condition.
Methods and Materials: 32 patients (18 males, 14 females, mean age 45±8.6) suffering from lateral epicondylitis underwent an US-guided percutaneous treatment. They were randomly subdivided into two groups. In the first group (16 patients), under local anesthesia and US guidance, a needle was advanced into the enthesis of the common extensor tendon. There, we performed multiple punctures to obtain a scarification of the enthesis and of the preinsertional portion of the tendon. In a second group (16 patients), an US-guided steroid injection was performed. A visual analogue scale was used to evaluate the degree of pain pre-and post-treatment at 2, 12, 24 and 48 weeks.
Results: In the first group, no significant improvement compared to baseline was found at 2 weeks but was present at 12, 24, and 48 weeks (p<.001 for all). In the second group, significant improvement compared to baseline was found at 2 weeks (p<.001) but not at 12, 24, and 48 weeks. Comparison between the groups showed significant different outcome in favour of the second group at two weeks (p<.001) and in favour of the first group at 12, 24, and 48 weeks (p<.001).
Conclusion: US-guided percutaneous dry-needling alone is more effective than steroid injection. The efficacy of this treatment seems to be long-lasting. It can be considered as an effective and minimally invasive treatment for lateral epicondylitis.