A common condition to strike tennis players as well as everyday individuals is Tennis Elbow. Tennis elbow is actually a tendonitis that affects muscles on the outer forearm. It can result from overuse or improper form. The British Journal of Sports Medicine published a study this month that investigated cost effectiveness as well as treatment outcome for tennis elbow.
Tennis elbow can be difficult to treat. The two primary forms of treatment are bracing and physical therapy. There has been question about which treatment yields best results as well as which is most cost effective.
In the study 180 individuals with tennis elbow were randomized to bracing, physical therapy, or both treatments for 6 weeks. Follow up was carried out several times over the next year and the primary outcomes were treatment effectiveness and cost analyis.
After review of the results the authors concluded that neither group faired better than the other. Each form ended up with similar benefit after one year and similar costs. The primary difference was in where the costs were absorbed. They extrapolated that physical therapy has a higher direct cost, and bracing has a higher indirect cost which balances out the two.
So no clear conclusion could be drawn about which treatment is best. It may be up to the individual person and the choice more based on time availability and effect on lifestyle.
Posted by Dr. Christina Gutierrez on August 28, 2006 01:53 PM
