Does shock wave therapy work to treat tennis elbow and is it safe?
To answer this question, scientists analyzed 9 studies testing over 1000 people who had tennis elbow. Most people had pain for a long period of time and the pain had not improved with other treatments. People tested received either shock wave therapy or fake therapy 3 times over 3 weeks to 3 months. Improvement was tested after 1 week to 12 months. These studies provide the best evidence we have today. What is tennis elbow and how could shock wave therapy help? Tennis elbow or lateral epicondylitis can occur for no reason or be caused by too much stress on the tendon at the elbow. It can cause the outside of the elbow and the upper forearm to become painful and tender to touch. Pain can last for 6 months to 2 years, and may get better on its own. Many treatments have been used to treat tennis elbow, but it is not clear whether these treatments work or if the pain simply goes away on its own. Shock wave therapy involves sending sound waves to the elbow by a machine. It is not well known
