Editorial
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2016. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Orthop. Aug 18, 2016; 7(8): 463-466
Published online Aug 18, 2016. doi: 10.5312/wjo.v7.i8.463
Lateral elbow tendinopathy: Evidence of physiotherapy management
Stasinopoulos Dimitrios
Stasinopoulos Dimitrios, Physiotherapy Program, Department Health Sciences, School of Sciences, European University of Cyprus, 1516 Nicosia, Cyprus
Author contributions: Dimitrios S solely contributed to this manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The author has no conflict of interests.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Dr. Stasinopoulos Dimitrios, PhD, Physiotherapy Program, Department Health Sciences, School of Sciences, European University of Cyprus, 6, Diogenes Str. Engomi, 1516 Nicosia, Cyprus. d.stassinopoulos@euc.ac.cy
Telephone: +357-22-713044
Received: February 16, 2016
Peer-review started: February 19, 2016
First decision: March 25, 2016
Revised: April 20, 2016
Accepted: June 14, 2016
Article in press: June 16, 2016
Published online: August 18, 2016
Processing time: 183 Days and 2.6 Hours
Abstract

Lateral elbow tendinopathy (LET) is a common musculoskeletal/sports injury. A plethora of physiotherapy techniques has been proposed in the management of LET. The exercise programme is the most common treatment in the management of LET. The optimal protocol of exercise programme is still unknown. The effectiveness of the exercise programme is low when it is applied as monotherapy. Therefore, exercise programme is combined with other physiotherapy modalities such as soft tissue techniques, external support, acupuncture, manual therapy and electrotherapy, in the treatment of LET. Future research is needed to determine which treatment strategy combined with exercise programme will provide the best results in LET rehabilitation.

Keywords: Tennis elbow; Isometric exercises; Physical therapy; Electrotherapeutic modalities; Eccentric training; Stretching; Physical modalities; Manipulation; Lateral epicondylitis; Lateral elbow tendinopathy

Core tip: An effective treatment approach in the management of lateral elbow tendinopathy (LET) is an exercise programme. Exercise programme improves patients’ symptoms but the ideal exercise protocol for the management of LET is still under investigation. Exercise programme as a sole treatment approach does not respond positively in many patients with LET. Thus, physiotherapists combine exercise programme with other physiotherapy techniques like electrotherapy, manual therapy, taping/bracing and acupuncture. Research to determine which treatment approach combined with exercise programme will provide the best results in the management of LET is needed.