Arthroscopic treatment of lateral epicondylitis: indication, technique and early results.

The purpose of this study is to present the results of the arthroscopic treatment of lateral epicondylitis. Twenty patients with lateral epicondylitis (mean age 42 years) were treated arthroscopically. The average duration of symptoms prior to surgery was 14 months. The arthroscopic joint inspection showed an intact capsule in seven patients (type-I lesion), in eight patients a linear capsule tear (type-II lesion) and in six patients a complete rupture of the capsule (type-III lesion). An associated intraarticular pathology was documented in eight patients. Within an average follow-up period of 1.8 years, local pain and function were documented and analyzed. Subjective pain at rest was reduced from 5.0 to 0.5 points, pain at daily living activities from 6.0 to 1.0 points and pain at athletic activities from 7.3 to 1.2 points in the VAS score. Function increased from 5.2 to an average value of 10.9 (max. 12 points). Patients returned back to work after 3.2 weeks. In conclusion, the arthroscopic release in patients with radial epicondylitis is a reproducible method with a marked postoperative increase in function within a short rehabilitation period.