2017 AAOS Annual Meeting: Lateral Epicondylitis Surgery: A Prosp ective, Randomized, Double Blinded, Placebo Controlled Clinical Trial

26 patients with chronic lateral epicondylitis were randomized to either surgical intervention with the Nirschl technique, or to a sham procedure involving only incision and exposure of the extensor carpi radialis brevis. Patients were followed up postoperatively for 1 year. Results demonstrated no significant differences between groups in outcome measures of pain frequency or severity, function, range of motion, and grip strength. A major limitation of the study was premature termination prior to achieving the predefined sample size.