OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether myofascial release (MFR) reduces the pain and functional disability of lateral epicondylitis (LE) in comparison with a control group receiving sham ultrasound therapy in computer professionals. DESIGN: Randomized, controlled, single blinded trial. SETTING: Nonprofit research foundation clinic in Kerala, India. PARTICIPANTS: Computer professionals (n = 68) with LE. INTERVENTIONS: MFR group or control group. The techniques were administered by certified MFR practitioners and consisted of 12 sessions per client over 4 weeks. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: The Patient-Rated Tennis Elbow Evaluation (PRTEE) scale was used to assess pain severity and functional disability. The primary outcome measure was the difference in PRTEE scale scores between week 1 (pretest score), week 4 (posttest score), and follow-up at week 12 after randomization. RESULTS: The simple main effects analysis showed that the MFR group performed better than the control group in weeks 4 and 12 (p < 0.005). Patients in the MFR and control groups reported a 78.7% and 6.8% reduction, respectively, in their pain and functional disability in week 4 compared with that in week 1, which persisted as 63.1% in the follow-up at week 12 in the MFR group. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides evidence that MFR is more effective than a control intervention for LE in computer professionals.

Full text (sometimes free) may be available at these link(s):      help

• DOI
• PubMed
• PDF locator
• publisher