Radial Extracorporeal Shock Wave Therapy Is Effective and Safe in Chronic Distal Biceps Tendinopathy.

OBJECTIVE

To assess the efficacy and safety of radial extracorporeal shock wave therapy (rESWT) for chronic distal biceps tendinopathy (cDBT).

DESIGN

Case-control study (level of evidence, 3).

SETTING

SUN Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine.

PATIENTS

Patients with a diagnosis of cDBT were recruited between January 2010 and February 2015.

INTERVENTIONS

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.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

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.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE

Radial ESWT as a novel, effective, and safe treatment for cDBT.