<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<sec>
<h3>Aim of the study</h3>
<p>There is no consensus on the most suitable non-surgical treatment of chronic lateral elbow tendinopathy. The aim of this pilot randomized controlled trial was to evaluate the size of effect of ultrasound-guided percutaneous needle tenotomy.</p>
</sec>
<sec>
<h3>Material and methods</h3>
<p>Three intervention arms were formed: 1) percutaneous needle tenotomy, hydrodissection, and physiotherapy; 2) hydrodissection and physiotherapy; and 3) physiotherapy alone. Patients with chronic lateral elbow tendinopathy were randomized. Clinical endpoints included multiple questionnaires after three months: Quick Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (QuickDASH), Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) pain at rest and during activity, and EuroQol 5D-5L (EQ-5D-5L).</p>
</sec>
<sec>
<h3>Results</h3>
<p>Thirty patients were included of 128 screened. The QuickDASH score improved in the percutaneous needle tenotomy and physiotherapy group, but not in the hydrodissection group. The NRS pain at rest and during activity improved more in the percutaneous needle tenotomy (resp. –2 and –2) and hydrodissection (resp. –3 and –3) groups than in the physiotherapy (resp. +1 and –1) group. The EQ-5D-5L improved similarly in all groups.</p>
</sec>
<sec>
<h3>Conclusions</h3>
<p>Patients receiving percutaneous needle tenotomy and/or hydrodissection may show better results in terms of pain but not in their functional outcomes compared to those who received physiotherapy alone. The size of effect, however, is small, so a large sample size is needed for a future randomized controlled trial to further investigate these results.</p>
</sec>
</abstract>

Aim of the study
There is no consensus on the most suitable non-surgical treatment of chronic lateral elbow tendinopathy. The aim of this pilot randomized controlled trial was to evaluate the size of effect of ultrasound-guided percutaneous needle tenotomy.


Material and methods
Three intervention arms were formed: 1) percutaneous needle tenotomy, hydrodissection, and physiotherapy; 2) hydrodissection and physiotherapy; and 3) physiotherapy alone. Patients with chronic lateral elbow tendinopathy were randomized. Clinical endpoints included multiple questionnaires after three months: Quick Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (QuickDASH), Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) pain at rest and during activity, and EuroQol 5D-5L (EQ-5D-5L).


Results
Thirty patients were included of 128 screened. The QuickDASH score improved in the percutaneous needle tenotomy and physiotherapy group, but not in the hydrodissection group. The NRS pain at rest and during activity improved more in the percutaneous needle tenotomy (resp. –2 and –2) and hydrodissection (resp. –3 and –3) groups than in the physiotherapy (resp. +1 and –1) group. The EQ-5D-5L improved similarly in all groups.


Conclusions
Patients receiving percutaneous needle tenotomy and/or hydrodissection may show better results in terms of pain but not in their functional outcomes compared to those who received physiotherapy alone. The size of effect, however, is small, so a large sample size is needed for a future randomized controlled trial to further investigate these results.

Added value of ultrasound-guided percutaneous needle tenotomy over hydrodissection and physiotherapy in chronic lateral elbow tendinopathy: a pilot randomized controlled trial

Journal of Ultrasonography

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Aim of the study
There is no consensus on the most suitable non-surgical treatment of chronic lateral elbow tendinopathy. The aim of this pilot randomized...

Added value of ultrasound-guided percutaneous needle tenotomy over hydrodissection and physiotherapy in chronic lateral elbow tendinopathy: a pilot randomized controlled trial

Article Category: Research Paper

Published Online: Nov 23, 2023

Page range: e358 - e364

Received: May 13, 2023

Accepted: Aug 24, 2023

DOI: https://doi.org/10.15557/jou.2023.0040

Keywords
physiotherapy, hydrodissection, lateral elbow tendinopathy, percutaneous needle tenotomy, ultrasound

© 2023 Laurens Koonen et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Supplementary Material Details

Added value of ultrasound-guided percutaneous needle tenotomy over hydrodissection and physiotherapy in chronic lateral elbow tendinopathy: a pilot randomized controlled trial

Article Category: Research Paper

Published Online: Nov 23, 2023

Page range: e358 - e364

Received: May 13, 2023

Accepted: Aug 24, 2023

DOI: https://doi.org/10.15557/jou.2023.0040

Keywordsphysiotherapy, hydrodissection, lateral elbow tendinopathy, percutaneous needle tenotomy, ultrasound

© 2023 Laurens Koonen et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Supplementary Material Details

Keywords
physiotherapy, hydrodissection, lateral elbow tendinopathy, percutaneous needle tenotomy, ultrasound