Acupuncture for Lateral Epicondylitis

Lateral epicondylitis (LE), is one of the most common diseases of the arm with repetitive microtrauma by overuse of the wrist. Several conventional therapies are offered for tennis elbow.When classical conservative treatments are unsuccessful or have side effects, patients opt for complementary medicine, particularly needle acupuncture. A 26-year-old male right-handed amateur volleyball player presented with severe pain radiating from the lateral aspect of the right elbow. Pain was initiated by resisted wrist extension with the elbow in full extension and the forearm in pronation. His pain was unresponsive to NSAID, local corticosteroid injection, and 21 times rehabilitation. The body points were selected according to the pulse test in Chinese medicine, and the ear points were determined by detecting the Nogiers’ ear acupuncture points. The energy level of the patient was measured using the pulse oscillography. Blocking was observed in all three energy circles on the pulse oscillography. At the end of the therapy, the average grip strength of the affected hand increased and VAS had decreased by the end of the treatment. The pulse oscillography indicated that the blocking and energy imbalance in the three circles were completely dissolved. In conclusion, acupuncture is an effective therapy for LE, and pulse oscillography is an important device for the diagnosis and therapy.