title: Autologous proliferative therapies in recalcitrant lateral epicondylitis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study investigates the clinical effects of autologous conditioned plasma (ACP) injections and low-level laser application as therapy options for chronic lateral epicondylitis.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 52 patients with chronic lateral epicondylitis were evaluated in this study; 26 of these patients received three ACP injections and the control group, with 26 patients, received 12 laser applications, with standardized physical therapy for all patients afterward. Control examinations took place before treatment, after 2 and 6 mos, and in the 1 yr final follow-up. The control examination included the visual analog scale for pain and Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand outcome measure scores.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The analysis at final follow-up after 1 yr showed that both treatment options resulted in successful therapy outcome for the patients. In total, 63.5 % were successfully treated. Successful treatment was defined as more than 30% improvement in the visual analog score and more than 10.2 points in the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand score. Both groups showed a significant improvement in time response.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study demonstrates the beneficial effects of autologous proliferative therapies in the treatment of lateral epicondylitis. The data show that laser application and ACP therapy lead to a clinical improvement in epicondylopathia. Especially the new treatment with ACP can be highlighted as an alternative and as an easy-to-apply therapy option for clinical practice.
authors.affiliation: From the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg, Magdeburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Elisa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Tetschke
authors.forename: Margit
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rudolf
authors.forename: Christoph H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Lohmann
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Stärke
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D002908:Chronic Disease; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005858:Germany; D006801:Humans; D007279:Injections, Subcutaneous; D028022:Low-Level Light Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D010147:Pain Measurement; D053657:Platelet-Rich Plasma; D011446:Prospective Studies; D016059:Range of Motion, Articular / Q000502:physiology*; D012008:Recurrence; D012016:Reference Values; D018570:Risk Assessment; D013716:Tennis Elbow / Q000532:radiotherapy / Q000628:therapy*; D013997:Time Factors; D014182:Transplantation, Autologous / Q000534:rehabilitation; D016896:Treatment Outcome