Effects of extracorporeal shock wave therapy on functional and strength recovery of handgrip in patients affected by epicondylitis

Extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) is effective in the treatment of tendinopathy. We designed a prospective observational clinical study to assess the correlation between clinical and functional measures and recovery of strength after ESWT for epicondylitis. We analyzed 26 patients. We measured progressive improvement in visual analogue scale values (p < 0.0005) and Mayo Elbow Performance Index scores (p = 0.004) for the pathologic limb. Monitoring of handgrip failed to reveal changes in values at any follow-up (p > 0.05). We found no correlation between degree of clinical function and muscle deficit during follow-up. After ESWT, there was a tendency toward a decrease in grip strength, especially in the dominant limb. This could be related to the effects of ESWT, which reduces spasticity in painful hypertonic muscles. These data may be useful in defining the expectations for function during ESWT for epicondylitis, particularly for elite athletes