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[caption id="attachment_4124" align="alignright" width="530"]<img class=" wp-image-4124" src="https://www.drfields.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/elbow-pain-medium-1.png" alt="Tennis Elbow" width="530" height="530" /> <strong>                  Prolotherapy Is a Lasting Treatment for Tennis Elbo</strong>w[/caption]
<h3>Read this <em>Orthopedic Review and Research</em> Medical Journal Article about Tennis Elbow Treatment with Prolotherapy versus Cortisone Injections.</h3>
<em>The article shows that patients improved with both Prolotherapy and Cortisone in the short-term. However, as we have discussed in <a href="https://www.drfields.com/articles/regenerative-orthopedics/cortisone-is-it-really-good-for-you/">previous articles</a>, cortisone injections did not last in the long term. Here you will see that patients who received Prolotherapy, continued to improve at the 3 month follow-up. And those who received cortisone did not.</em>

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<h3 class="heading-title">Is Dextrose Prolotherapy Superior To Corticosteroid Injection In Patients With Chronic Lateral Epicondylitis?: A Randomized Clinical Trial</h3>
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<div class="authors-list"><span class="authors-list-item "><a class="full-name" href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=Bayat+M&amp;cauthor_id=31819675" data-ga-category="search" data-ga-action="author_link" data-ga-label="Masume Bayat">Masume Bayat</a><sup class="affiliation-links"><span class="author-sup-separator"> </span><a class="affiliation-link" href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31819675/#affiliation-1">1</a></sup><span class="comma">, </span></span><span class="authors-list-item "><a class="full-name" href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=Raeissadat+SA&amp;cauthor_id=31819675" data-ga-category="search" data-ga-action="author_link" data-ga-label="Seyed Ahmad Raeissadat">Seyed Ahmad Raeissadat</a><sup class="affiliation-links"><span class="author-sup-separator"> </span><a class="affiliation-link" href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31819675/#affiliation-2">2</a></sup><span class="comma">, </span></span><span class="authors-list-item "><a class="full-name" href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=Mortazavian+Babaki+M&amp;cauthor_id=31819675" data-ga-category="search" data-ga-action="author_link" data-ga-label="Maryam Mortazavian Babaki">Maryam Mortazavian Babaki</a><sup class="affiliation-links"><span class="author-sup-separator"> </span><a class="affiliation-link" href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31819675/#affiliation-3">3</a></sup><span class="comma">, </span></span><span class="authors-list-item "><a class="full-name" href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=Rahimi-Dehgolan+S&amp;cauthor_id=31819675" data-ga-category="search" data-ga-action="author_link" data-ga-label="Shahram Rahimi-Dehgolan">Shahram Rahimi-Dehgolan</a><sup class="affiliation-links"><span class="author-sup-separator"> </span><a class="affiliation-link" href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31819675/#affiliation-4">4</a></sup></span></div>
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<h2 class="title"><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31819675/">Abstract</a></h2>
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<strong class="sub-title">Purpose: </strong>To compare the efficacy of dextrose prolotherapy versus steroid injection in the treatment of patients with chronic lateral epicondylitis.

<strong class="sub-title">Methods: </strong>Thirty subjects with chronic lateral epicondylitis were randomly assigned into two groups of hypertonic dextrose or methylprednisolone injection. Participants were assessed through Quick DASH and VAS scores, once before injection, and then after 1- and 3-months follow-up. And two patients were excluded due to not completing the follow-up timepoints.

<strong class="sub-title">Results: </strong>In both groups VAS scores revealed significant improvement during the first month follow-up [mean difference (MD) = 1.9±3.3, versus 1.5±1.9 for the prolotherapy and steroid groups, respectively]. This declining trajectory continued at the third month visit in the prolotherapy group and MD reached 4.4±2.9, while it did not change remarkably in the steroid group (MD=1.9±3.4).

In fact, comparing VAS scores between the 1st- and 3rd-month time points did not reveal a significant improvement in the steroid group (<i>p</i>=0.6). Also, the Quick DASH index showed a similar pattern and improved remarkably in both groups during the first visit.
<h4><strong>However, only the efficacy in the prolotherapy group persisted after 3-month follow-up (MD = 9.5±21.6, <i>p</i>=0.044)</strong>.</h4>
One month after injections no preference was observed between the two interventions (<i>p</i>=0.74 for VAS and 0.14 for Quick DASH score). However, the 3rd-month follow-up revealed a meaningful superiority (<i>p</i>=0.03 for VAS and <i>p</i>=0.01 for Quick DASH score) favoring the prolotherapy method.

<strong class="sub-title">Conclusion: </strong>Both methods were proven to be effective in the short-term treatment of chronic lateral epicondylitis, but dextrose prolotherapy seems to be slightly more efficacious than steroid injection over a longer period.<b>Clinical trial registration:</b> Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials Database: IRCT20170311033000N3.

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<div class="large_thumb">Read other articles about cortisone or corticosteroid injections:</div>
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<h3><a title="Cortisone – Is it Really Good for You" href="https://www.drfields.com/articles/regenerative-orthopedics/cortisone-is-it-really-good-for-you/">Cortisone – Is it Really Good for You</a></h3>
<h3><a title="Cortisone Injections Are As Safe As You Think" href="https://www.drfields.com/articles/regenerative-orthopedics/cortisone-injections-are-as-safe-as-you-think/">Cortisone Injections: Are They As Safe As You Think</a></h3>
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<h3 class="large_thumb">Reference:</h3>
<div class="large_thumb">Bayat M, Raeissadat SA, Mortazavian Babaki M, Rahimi-Dehgolan S. Is Dextrose Prolotherapy Superior To Corticosteroid Injection In Patients With Chronic Lateral Epicondylitis?: A Randomized Clinical Trial. Orthop Res Rev. 2019;11:167-175. Published 2019 Nov 5. doi:10.2147/ORR.S218698</div>
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