title: Long term effects of high intensity laser therapy in lateral epicondylitis patients.
abstract: The objective of this study is to investigate short- and long-term effects of high-intensity laser therapy (HILT) in lateral epicondylitis (LE) patients. Thirty patients with LE diagnosis (23 unilateral and 7 bilateral in total 37 elbows) were treated using HILT. LE patients were evaluated before, right after, and 6 months following HILT intervention post-treatment using visual analogue scale for pain (VAS) during activity and resting. Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand (DASH) Score and hand grip strength test (HGST) were used. The participants of the present study were also evaluated using Short-Form 36 (SF-36) before and 6 months after the treatment. Out of the 30 patients, 8 were male and 22 female with a mean age of 47.2 ± 9.7. The activity and resting VAS, DASH, and HGST scores revealed statistically significant improvement (p = 0.001) following treatment. Whereas VAS activity, DASH, and HGST scores increased after treatment until post-treatment 6 months significantly (p = 0.001), VAS resting scores remained stable (p = 0.476). A statistically significant improvement was also evident in the physical and mental components of SF-36 scores following treatment until post-treatment 6 months compared to pre-treatment scores (p = 0.001). In conclusion, the results of the present study suggest that HILT is a reliable, safe, and effective treatment option in LE patients in the short and long term considering pain, functional status, and quality of life.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Konya Education and Research Hospital, Hacı Şaban Mah., Meram Yeniyol Caddesi No:97, Konya, 42090, Turkey. ekremakkurt@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Ekrem
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Akkurt
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Meram Medical School of Necmettin Erbakan University, Konya, Turkey.
authors.forename: Sami
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kucuksen
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Konya Education and Research Hospital, Hacı Şaban Mah., Meram Yeniyol Caddesi No:97, Konya, 42090, Turkey.
authors.forename: Halim
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yılmaz
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Konya Education and Research Hospital, Hacı Şaban Mah., Meram Yeniyol Caddesi No:97, Konya, 42090, Turkey.
authors.forename: Selman
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Parlak
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Meram Medical School of Necmettin Erbakan University, Konya, Turkey.
authors.forename: Ali
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sallı
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Faculty of Medicine, Kırıkkale University, Kırıkkale, Turkey.
authors.forename: Gülten
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Karaca
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D018737:Hand Strength; D006801:Humans; D053685:Laser Therapy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010146:Pain / Q000150:complications; D011788:Quality of Life; D013716:Tennis Elbow / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D016896:Treatment Outcome
keywords: Elbow; High-intensity laser treatment; Lateral epicondylitis; Pain; VAS score