Review of selected physical therapy methods used in the rehabilitation of the tennis elbow in the framework of evidence-based medicine principles

Abstract

Background: Tennis elbow (TE) is a term widely used to describe an injury of wrist extensors enthesopathy known as lateral epicondylitis. Many serious constraints are being caused by this syndrome, emerging as a socioeconomic problem affecting patients of working age. The aetiology is still unknown, but it was proven that repetitive gripping, wrist extension, radial deviation, and/or forearm supination are the main factors influencing the development of the syndrome. There are many surgical and non-surgical treatment methods, but current scientific literature does not identify significant differences in their outcomes. Despite this, rehabilita tion, yielding similar results to other methods, was still considered a supportive method after a surgical procedure. Three methods of extracorporeal shockwave therapy (ESWT), ultrasounds (US), and laser therapy are thoroughly described further down in the review. Aims: This paper aimed to review current scientific literature and investigate possible non-surgical treatment methods for the TE syndrome.