Treatment of lateral epicondylitis with acupuncture and glucocorticoid: A retrospective cohort study

Lateral epicondylitis (LE) is a common musculoskeletal disorder for which an effective treatment strategy remains unknown. The goal of this study is to examine whether acupuncture is more effective than injection of glucocorticoid in adults with LE. Adults with LE received either acupuncture or injection of glucocorticoid were followed-up for 6 months. All patients assessed before treatment, 0, 3 months, and 6 months after the therapy. Outcome measures consisted of visual analog scores (VAS) and the Mayo elbow performance score (MEPS). The acupuncture group and the corticosteroid group did not differ on demographic or clinical characteristics (P < .05). VAS and MEPS score was not significantly different between 2 groups at 0 and 3 months. MEPS scores were significantly lower in the corticosteroid group at 6 months, compared with those in the acupuncture group (P < .05). However, the VAS score was not significantly different (P > .05). There were no complications related to the use of acupuncture or corticosteroid injection. We found that both methods were effective for external humeral epicondylitis. However, after 6 months of treatment, patients with chronic LE with acupuncture achieved pain relief and function improve significantly, exceeding the effect of corticosteroid injection.