Effectiveness of Active Release Technique With Conventional Therapy in the Management of Lateral Epicondylitis: A Case Report

The condition known as tendonitis, tennis elbow, lateral epicondylalgia, or lateral epicondylitis affects the radiohumeral joint and causes persistent, severe discomfort in the elbow. It commonly affects those who work in professions that need repetitive forearm motions, like athletes who play on courts, computer operators, and woodworkers. It tends to originate from additional rapid, tiresome, recurring eccentric contractions and activities that grab gliding joints. It commonly affects the dominant hand. This case report describes the author's seven years of experience living with lateral epicondylitis, including functional disability in day-to-day life, and then physiotherapy management was started. Mill's and Cozen's tests were performed, and lateral epicondylitis was confirmed. From 2023, the physiotherapy session, including active release technique and conventional therapy, was taken regularly for four weeks. The outcome measure score of the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) was 7/10 pre-treatment and 2/10 post-treatment, and for the Patient-Rated Tennis Elbow Evaluation (PRTEE) scale, it was 50/100 pre-treatment and 25/100 post-treatment. The results that are reported from this particular case study suggest that physiotherapy has a significant effect in improving muscle strength, increasing range of motion, improving activities of daily living, and enhancing the overall quality of life. The study concludes a physiotherapist is crucial in treating these overuse injuries and returning the patient to their daily activities.

Stop Using the Eccentric Exercises as the Gold Standard Treatment for the Management of Lateral Elbow Tendinopathy

The most common tendinopathy in the elbow area is the Lateral elbow tendinopathy (LET) [...].

Exercise for tendinopathy

Tendinopathies are one of the most common sports/musculoskeletal injury in modern western societies. Many physiotherapy approaches have been recommended in the literature for the management of tendinopathy. The most effective treatment in the management of tendinopathy is the eccentric training. Load, speed and frequency of contractions are the three principles of eccentric exercises, discussed in this report. However, eccentric training is not effective for all patients with tendinopathy and the effectiveness of this approach when applied as monotherapy is lower than it is applied as part of the rehabilitation process. For this reason, clinicians combine eccentric training with other physiotherapy techniques such as stretching, isometric and lumbar stability exercises, electrotherapy, manual therapy, soft tissue manipulation techniques, taping and acupuncture in the management of tendinopathies. Further research is needed to find out which treatment strategy combined with eccentric training will provide the best results in the rehabilitation of tendinopathy.