Efficacy of Active Release Technique in Tennis Elbow – A Randomized Control Trial

Purpose: To evaluate the efficacy of Active Release Technique on functional performance by Patient Rated Tennis Elbow Evaluation (PRTEE) and Pain Free Grip Strength (PFGS) in patients with Tennis Elbow. Methodology: A total of 30 patients having symptomatic chronic tennis elbow were taken and randomly assigned to one of the two groups. Group A received Active Release Technique (ART) and conventional treatment, whereas Group B acted as a control group and received conventional treatment of pulsed ultrasonic therapy at 20% duty cycle, frequency 3MHz and an intensity of 2 W/cm2 for 7 ½ min, progressive resisted exercises and stretching. Fourteen treatment sessions are given. Baseline measurement of PRTEE score and Pain Free Grip Strength was taken on Day 1 and then subsequently on day 14. Results: The data was analyzed using the software Instat. Differences were found for 2 outcome measures: success rate at 3 weeks. Findings indicated ART was more effective than the other protocol. After 3 weeks of intervention, improvement in Functional performance as measured on PRTEE was more (SD=8.87) in group 1, as compared with (SD=7.41) in group 2. Improvement in grip strength as measured by PFGS was more (SD=1.52) in group 1, as compared with (SD=1.05) in group 2. Conclusion: The study concludes that both the Active Release Technique is effective in reducing pain, improving strength and functional performance.