Effects of Myofascial Release and TENS Over Pain, Hand Prehensile Strength and Functionality of Superior Extremity in Women With Lateral Epicondylalgia

Effects of Myofascial Release of the Brachial Biceps and TENS Over the Elbow Pain, Hand Prehensile Strength and Functionality of Superior Extremity in Women With Symptomatology of Chronic Lateral Epicondylalgia

This study evaluated the additive effect of myofascial release therapy on the brachial biceps on conventional management (TENS) in pain intensity, hand prehensile strength and upper limb functionality of individuals with lateral epicondylalgia.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Musculoskeletal Manipulations
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: TENS; Other: Myofascial therapy

Detailed Description

This study determined the additive effect of the myofascial release therapy of brachial biceps on TENS in the variables pain intensity, hand prehensile strength and upper limb functionality of individuals with lateral epicondylalgia, compared to a group that received only TENS. This was done in a sample of 32 individuals, assigned in two groups: group A that received an application of TENS and group B that received an application of TENS plus myofascial release therapy.

Contrary to the hypothesis, the application of myofascial release therapy added to the application of TENS proved to generate a significant change only in the prehensile hand force with respect to the group that received only TENS.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 32
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Chile
  • Concepción
    • Talcahuano, Concepción, Chile, 4260000
      • Universidad Andrés Bello

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 30 years to 50 years (Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: Female

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Female between 30 and 50 years old.
• Belong to the administrative staff of the university in question
• Have a symptomatic diagnosis of chronic lateral epicondylitis (> 6 weeks)

Exclusion Criteria:

• Being pregnant
• Have done moderate or intense aerobic or anaerobic sport activities of any kind 72 hours before the registrations
• Have an orthopedic, rheumatologic, neuropsychiatric or associated comorbidities diagnosed.
• Have suffered a fracture or trauma involving the upper extremity 4 months before the intervention.
• Be in medical, pharmacological or kinesthetic treatment during the intervention or 2 weeks before this.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Triple

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: TENS; Conventional TENS of 100 Hz and 100 usec for 20 minutes	Other: TENS; 100 Hz and 100 usec for 20 minutes; Other Names: Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation
Experimental: Myofascial Therapy; Conventional TENS of 100 Hz and 100 usec for 20 minutes plus myofascial release therapy in the brachial biceps; Seven to fifteen transverse sliding repetitions and three repetitions of longitudinal sliding	Other: TENS; 100 Hz and 100 usec for 20 minutes; Other Names: Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation; Other: Myofascial therapy; Seven to fifteen transverse sliding repetitions and three repetitions of longitudinal sliding of myofascial release therapy

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in pain intensity numerical rating scale	Self-reported measure of pain intensity. It consists on asking to assess pain intensity by selecting a number on a scale of 11 horizontal points. It is represented from 0 (without pain) to 10 (the worst possible pain) A score of 1 to 4 indicates mild pain; 5-6, moderate pain; and 7 to 10, severe pain.	One month
Pressure pain threshold	Is the minimum pressure that induces pain or discomfort. It was measured with a algometer. It is expressed in units of pressure as kilograms per square centimeter per second (Kg / cm2 / s).	Immediately after treatment
Prehensile hand strength	It is the ability to compress the hand, related to the functional integrity of the upper extremity as an index of general health. It was measured with a dynamometer. It was measured according to the criteria established by the American Society of Hand Therapists. It is measured in kilograms	Immediately after treatment
Change in Elbow functionality.	Functionality is a generic term that includes bodily functions, body structures, activities and participation. It shows the positive aspects of a person's interaction and the context. It was obtained through a scale of functionality (Oxford Elbow Score), which is composed of three domains (subscales); elbow, pain and social-psychological function, which underlie 12 questions, which are internally consistent, one-dimensional and do not have redundancy of items. The scores of each domain are calculated as the sum of the score of each individual element, where each case is expressed on a scale from 0 to 100 where, a score of 0.84 indicates a substantial improvement.	One month

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Fernanda Merino Alvarez
• Investigators: Study Director: Jorge Fuentes, PhD, Universidad Andrés Bello

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): September 24, 2018
• Primary Completion (Actual): October 22, 2018
• Study Completion (Actual): December 20, 2018

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: July 7, 2019
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: July 16, 2019
• First Posted (Actual): July 17, 2019

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): July 17, 2019
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: July 16, 2019
• Last Verified: July 1, 2019

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Pain; Functionality; Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation; Strength; Myofascial release; Manual therapy; Lateral epicondylitis
• Other Study ID Numbers: UniversidadNAB

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No
• product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.: No