The lateral epicondilitis, known as 'tennis elbow', is a frequent disease in people playing manual sports or jobs. The most common treatments are based on physical or pharmacological therapies, but the disease often relapses or becomes chronic. We decided to try acupuncture, that does not bring the side effects of the NSAIDs, and can allow a global approach to the patient. We tested acupuncture against ultrasound therapy. Forty patients were included in the study and randomly allocated to two study groups: 20 of them received acupuncture and 20 ultrasounds. In all patients we checked the Maigne's Test and the Scott-Huskisson visual analogue scale at the first visit, at the end of the treatment and at the follow up examination after six months. Both therapies showed significant effectiveness on studied parameters (Anova for repeated measures in both groups: p < 0.01). Acupuncture was significantly more effective than ultrasounds both in pain treatment (p < 0.001) and in the functional recover (p < 0.001) during the study. The results were permanent and sometimes better at the follow up visit.

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