Control | Placebo injection with physiotherapy | Corticosteroid injection with physiotherapy | Total | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
(n = 60) | (n = 58) | (n = 59) | (N = 177) | ||
Age | years, mean (SD) | 44.0 (9.7) | 48.8 (9.4) | 47.9 (9.6) | 46.9 (9.7) |
Women | 25 (42) | 20 (35) | 26 (44) | 71 (40) | |
Higher education* | 15 (25) | 24 (41) | 13 (22) | 52 (29) | |
Exercises regularly | 30 (50) | 32 (55) | 24 (41) | 86 (49) | |
Paid work | 53 (88) | 49 (85) | 52 (88) | 154 (87) | |
Paid work | 53 (88) | 49 (85) | 52 (88) | 154 (87) | |
Manual labor | 36 (60) | 29 (50) | 35 (59) | 100 (57) | |
On paid sick-leave now** | 14 (26) | 14 (29) | 23 (44) | 51 (33) | |
Duration of complaints | (weeks, median (IQR)) | 7.5 (4‐10) | 8 (4‐10) | 6 (4‐10) | 8 (4‐10) |
Dominant elbow affected | 41 (68) | 42 (72) | 43 (73) | 126 (71) | |
Pain every day past week | 58 (97) | 55 (95) | 57 (97) | 170 (96) | |
Use of analgesics past week | 15 (25) | 15 (26) | 25 (42) | 55 (31) | |
Acute start of symptoms | 42 (70) | 25 (43) | 27 (46) | 94 (53) | |
Similar complaints earlier ++ | 16 (27) | 9 (16) | 16 (27) | 41 (23) | |
Presumed cause | |||||
overuse, usual activitities | 34 (57) | 38 (66) | 38 (64) | 110 (62) | |
overuse, unusual activities | 25 (42) | 19 (33) | 21 (36) | 65 (37) | |
Patient’s preference for treatment | |||||
Physiotherapy | 17 (28) | 26 (45) | 24 (41) | 67 (38) | |
Injections | 15 (25) | 6 (10) | 19 (32) | 40 (23) | |
Wait and see | 6 (10) | 3 (5) | 2 (3) | 11 (6) | |
No preference | 22 (37) | 22 (38) | 14 (24) | 58 (33) | |
Pain Score on VAS (0‐100 mm) | mean (sd) | 48 (21.5) | 53 (19.3) | 56 (19.7) | 52 (20.4) |
Affected Function on VAS (0: not affected, 100: very much affected) | mean (sd) | 53 (21.8) | 54 (22.5) | 53 (21.7) | 53 (21.9) |
Overall Complaints on VAS (0: no complaints, 100: very large complaints) | mean (sd) | 62 (20.5) | 62 (19.3) | 69 (17.1) | 64 (19.2) |
Pain-free grip strength ratio*** | mean (sd) | 35 (27) | 38 (27) | 37 (27) | 36 (27) |
Maximum grip strength ratio*** | mean (sd) | 72 (29) | 77 (42) | 70 (28) | 73 (34) |
Pain Free Function Index**** | mean (sd) | 5.4 (1.6) | 5.3 (1.8) | 5.5 (1.7) | 5.4 (1.7) |
Pain-free isometric dorsiflexion of wrist+ | 0/60 (0) | 0/58 (0) | 2/59 (3) | 2/177 (3) | |
Pain-free isometric extension of third finger+ | 8/59 (14) | 2/58 (3) | 4/59 (7) | 14/176 (8) |