Lateral epicondylitis, commonly known as tennis elbow, is a painful condition that occurs when the tendons in your elbow become inflamed. This is usually caused by repetitive motions of the wrist and arm, such as swinging a tennis racket. Contrary to its name, athletes are not the only ones who can develop tennis elbow. Anyone who uses a repetitive motion involving this important joint may develop tennis elbow.
A systematic review was aimed at assessing the clinical effectiveness of acupuncture for treating tennis elbow. The researchers pulled data from ten randomized controlled trials consisting of 796 individual patients in total. After analyzing the clinical efficacy rate, visual analog scale, and functional recovery-related scales, the researchers concluded that acupuncture therapy might be more effective than drugs and blocking therapy when treating tennis elbow.
Please feel free to call us at 301.880.3232 and it would be our pleasure to schedule a comprehensive evaluation and acupuncture treatment for you with Dr. Christina Tian.
References:
Tennis elbow. Mayo Clinic. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/tennis-elbow/symptoms-causes/syc-20351987. Published February 25, 2021. Accessed July 16, 2022.
Yumei Zhou, Yuebao Guo, Rui Zhou, Ping Wu, Fanrong Liang, Zhuoxin Yang, "Effectiveness of Acupuncture for Lateral Epicondylitis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials", Pain Research and Management, vol. 2020, Article ID 8506591, 10 pages, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1155/2020/8506591