title: Radial Extracorporeal Shock Wave Therapy Is Effective and Safe in Chronic Distal Biceps Tendinopathy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess the efficacy and safety of radial extracorporeal shock wave therapy (rESWT) for chronic distal biceps tendinopathy (cDBT).
  
  
  METHODS
  Case-control study (level of evidence, 3).
  
  
  METHODS
  SUN Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine.
  
  
  METHODS
  Patients with a diagnosis of cDBT were recruited between January 2010 and February 2015.
  
  
  METHODS
  Patients received a single session of rESWT (2000 shock waves with energy flux density of 0.18 mJ/mm) or other forms of nonoperative therapy.
  
  
  METHODS
  Patients completed the visual analog scale (VAS), the modified QuickDASH (MQD) score, and the Roles and Maudsley (RM) score over a 12-month period.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Forty-eight patients completed the final review at 12 months and were included in the study. Subjects ranged in age from 30 to 64 years. Mean pretreatment VAS scores for the rESWT and control groups were 8.3 and 8.5, respectively. Three and 12 months after inclusion in the study, the mean VAS scores for the rESWT and control groups were 3.4 and 5.6 (P < 0.001) and 2.7 and 4.7 (P < 0.001), respectively. Twelve-month follow-up MQD-Sports and MQD-Work scores for the rESWT and control groups were 3.7 and 1.7 (P < 0.001) and 3.8 and 1.8 (P < 0.001), respectively. Differences in mean RM scores were statistically significant between groups at 3 months after the treatment. There were no significant complications.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Overall, rESWT is an effective and safe treatment for cDBT.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Radial ESWT as a novel, effective, and safe treatment for cDBT.
authors.affiliation: *SUN Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine, Division of Evangelical Community Hospital, Lewisburg, Pennsylvania; †OrthoTrauma Evaluation Institute, Mainz, Germany; ‡Centre for Sports and Excercise Medicine, Mile End Hospital, Queen Mary University of London, London, United Kingdom; §Department of Life, Health and Environmental Sciences, School of Medicine, University of L'Aquila, L'Aquila, Italy; and ¶Extracorporeal Shock Wave Research Unit, Department of Anatomy II, Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich, Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: John P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Furia
authors.forename: Jan-Dirk
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Rompe
authors.forename: Nicola
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Maffulli
authors.forename: Angelo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cacchio
authors.forename: Christoph
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Schmitz
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D019220:High-Energy Shock Waves / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010147:Pain Measurement; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D052256:Tendinopathy / Q000628:therapy*; D016896:Treatment Outcome