Article

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the time course of sensorimotor deficits in lateral
epicondylalgia (LE; tennis elbow) and how these deficits may be influenced by
common conservative treatments. DESIGN: Single-blind randomized controlled trial.
SETTING: University laboratory, Australia. A total of 198participants with unilateral LE of a minimum 6 weeks duration and normative data
from a group of 40 healthy participants. INTERVENTIONS: Participants with LE were
randomly assigned to physical therapy, corticosteroid injection, or a
wait-and-see approach with ergonomic advice. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Upper-limb
reaction time (simple, 1-choice and 2-choice reaction time) and speed of movement
were assessed at baseline and 6 and 52 weeks of follow-up. RESULTS: Patients with
LE exhibited delayed reaction times (P<.001) and slower movement speeds (P<.001)
for both the affected and unaffected arm at baseline, compared with normative
data. Despite some improvement over time, significant bilateral deficits remained
compared with healthy participants, with no significant differences between the
affected and unaffected arm. Overall, there was no significant difference between
the 3 treatment groups over time. CONCLUSIONS: Sensorimotor deficits remain
relatively unchanged over time and are present bilaterally in patients with
unilateral LE. Treatment did not influence the time course of the sensorimotor
deficits. This prompts conjecture as to the relationship and clinical relevance
of sensorimotor deficits in LE. It should be noted that treatment evaluated in
this study did not specifically target sensorimotor function, and further
investigation into the significance of sensorimotor deficits in patients with LE is required.

Langue : ANGLAIS

Tiré à part : OUI