Steroids do not show efficacy for treating tennis elbow

Steroid injections are not effective for treating tennis elbow, as per a new study in the BMJ. The study also suggested that a wait-and-watch approach is the best option before any medical advice or medication can be recommended.

The study findings suggested that tennis elbow is a self-limiting condition in most of the cases.

From Bio-Medicine.Org:

Initially, corticosteroid injections were the most successful treatment, with 78% of those in the group reporting improvements, followed closely by physiotherapy with a 65% success rate when compared to just 27% in the 'wait and see' group.

However, after 52 weeks the injection group rates of improvement were significantly worse than those of the physiotherapy group. The injection group also had the most reported recurrences, with 72% of participants' condition deteriorating after three or six weeks – which could be due, in part, to a quicker initial recovery leading to greater use and over-taxing of the elbow.

The research also found that the superior long-term effects of physiotherapy were replicated by the wait and see approach – at the end of the study participants in both the physiotherapy and wait and see group had either much improved or completely recovered.

The authors say that "the…poor overall performance of corticosteroid injections should be taken under consideration by both the patient and their doctor in management of tennis elbow."

It is believed that the finding would provide new insights to medical practitioners for treating individuals suffering from tennis elbow.