The main aim of this study was to evaluate the short-term effects of daily eccentric exercises on functional pain-free hand strength in subjects with long-term lateral epicondylalgia. Forty-two subjects with lateral epicondylalgia were randomly assigned either to a 6-week home exercise regimen receiving eccentric training for their wrist extensors and a forearm band or to a control group receiving a forearm band only. The main outcomes were pain-free hand-grip and wrist-extensor strength at mid- and end-intervention follow-ups, 3 and 6 weeks after inclusion, respectively. Secondary outcomes were a change in the proportion of cases with epicondylalgia and ratings of perceived pain (VAS) at follow-up. Thirty-seven (88%) subjects completed both the mid- and the end-intervention follow-up. Exercise members had significantly higher pain-free hand-grip (P=0.025) and wrist-extensor strength (P<0.001) at the end of follow-up, although there was no such effect at mid-intervention. Regression analysis showed a reduction in the proportion of cases in the exercise group at the end of follow-up (P=0.035). However, no between-groups effect emerged for perceived pain. These data suggest that the daily home eccentric exercise regimen is effective in increasing functional pain-free grip strength and reducing cases suffering from lateral epicondylalgia. However, no effect emerged for global perceived pain during the last week.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.