• Dongni Luo, Bingyan Liu, Lini Gao, and Shengxin Fu.
• Department of Ultrasound, Hainan General Hospital (Hainan Affiliated Hospital of Hainan Medical University) Hainan, China.
• Medicine (Baltimore). 2022 Feb 25; 101 (8): e28822e28822.

ObjectiveLateral epicondylitis is a common musculoskeletal disorder, and ultrasound therapy is one of the most used treatments in the clinic. The effect remains uncertain, and the present paper aims to figure it out with a meta-analysis.MethodsThe Pubmed, Cochrane library, and Embase databases were searched for relevant studies published before Jure 1, 2021. Continuous variables were compared by calculating the standard difference of the means, whereas categorical dichotomous variables were assessed using relative risks. A random-effects model was used if the heterogeneity statistic was significant; otherwise, a fixed-effects model was used.ResultsThirteen studies were included in the quantitative analysis, including 442 participants (287 ultrasonic treated patients and 155 controls). The VAS scale decreased markedly after ultrasound therapy (P = .027). However, no statistically significant difference could be found between ultrasound therapy and the control groups at all post-treatment time points. Similarly, no benefits could be found when comparing the pre- and post-treatment grip strength with ultrasonic therapy (P = .324). Moreover, though ultrasound treatment always continues for a long time, the present study demonstrated there were no additional benefits when comparing short- and long-term outcomes.ConclusionsThe ultrasound therapy is helpful to relieve pain for LE patients, but no such benefit could be found for grip strength. However, it has no significant advantage against other conservative treatments like rest and brace.Copyright © 2022 the Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.

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