Prolotherapy Interventions in Treatment of Chronic Lateral Epicondylitis

Abstract

Objective: Chronic lateral epicondylitis is a common, debilitating and often refractory injury. Prolotherapy is a therapeutic injection therapy suggested for enthesopathies. The objective of this retrospective study was to investigate the efficacy of prolotherapy in chronic lateral epicondylitis.
Material and Method: Sixteen recreational athletes between the ages of 35 to 51 (mean age: 44.6 years) with chronic lateral epicondylitis for more than 3 months and refractory to conservative treatment were enrolled. Prolotherapy solution was injected on to the lateral epicondyle with “peppering” technique along the insertion part of the tendon and annular ligament at the tender areas. 3 weeks of intervals were given between injections. All patients were prescribed with a standard home exercise program. The outcome measures of Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) and DASH (The Disability of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand) scales were assessed at baseline and 3 months after last injections.
Results: 12 patients received a triple, 1 patient received a double and 3 patients received a single injection according to healing process. The VAS scores revealed a significant improvement; the baseline score of 8.1(±1.3) decreased to 1.2(±1.2) (p<0.001). The DASH scores also showed a similar positive trend; the baseline score of 78.6(±11.4) decreased to 33.5(±8.3) (p<0.001).
Conclusion: Prolotherapy is a safe and effective therapeutic intervention in chronic lateral epicondylitis. There is need for studies with higher number of patients to reveal definitive results.