TECAR Therapy + Exercise: Participants assigned to this group will receive active Capacitive and Resistive Electrical Transfer (TECAR) therapy in addition to a standard home exercise program. Active TECAR therapy will be administered five times a week for two weeks (10 sessions in total), with each session lasting 15 minutes.
Sham TECAR Therapy + Exercise: Participants assigned to this group will receive sham TECAR therapy in addition to the same standardized home exercise program. The sham intervention will be delivered using the same device, applicator, treatment duration, and application procedures as the active treatment; However, no therapeutic energy will be delivered.
Study summary
This prospective, randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled clinical trial aims to evaluate the efficacy of Capacitive and Resistive Energy Transfer (TECAR) therapy in patients with lateral epicondylitis. Participants will be randomly assigned to either a TECAR plus exercise group or a sham TECAR plus exercise group.
Both groups will receive a standardized home exercise program including elbow and wrist range-of-motion, stretching, eccentric strengthening, and handgrip strengthening exercises. The TECAR group will additionally receive active TECAR therapy, while the control group will receive sham TECAR treatment using the same device and treatment protocol without therapeutic energy delivery.
Outcome assessments will be performed by a blinded evaluator at baseline, immediately after treatment, and at 1- and 2-month follow-up visits. The study aims to determine whether TECAR therapy provides additional benefits in pain relief, functional improvement, and clinical outcomes when combined with exercise therapy in patients with lateral epicondylitis.
Eligibility
Sex
ALL
Min age
18 Years
Max age
65 Years
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion Criteria:
* Patients with lateral epicondylitis who have experienced elbow pain for at least 6 weeks and have at least two positive provocative tests (Cozen's, Mill's, or Maudsley's test).
* Age between 18 and 65 years.
* Unilateral pain and tenderness over the lateral epicondyle lasting longer than 6 weeks.
* Clinically diagnosed lateral epicondylitis.
* No cognitive impairment.
* Willingness to participate and provide informed consent.
Exclusion Criteria:
* History of interventional injection to the affected elbow within the previous 3 months.
* Receipt of physical therapy for the affected elbow within the previous 3 months.
* Regular use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) within the previous 2 weeks.
* History of fracture or surgery involving the affected elbow.
* Presence of a chronic inflammatory disease.
* History of malignancy.
* Active infection.
* Pregnancy.
* Presence of a cardiac pacemaker or other electronic implant.
* Coagulation disorders.
* Cervical radiculopathy, entrapment neuropathy, or peripheral nerve injury.
* Body mass index (BMI) ≥ 35 kg/m².
Primary outcome measure(s)
Visual Analog Scale (VAS) — Baseline (pre-treatment), Week 2 (post-treatment), Week 6 (1-month follow-up), and Week 10 (2-month follow-up). The Visual Analog Scale (VAS) is the most commonly used outcome measure for assessing pain intensity in studies involving lateral epicondylitis. It typically consists of a 10-cm horizontal line anchored by the descriptors "no pain" and "worst imaginable pain" at each end. Participants are asked to mark the point on the line that best represents their perceived pain intensity, and the distance from the left endpoint to the marked point is recorded in centimeters. In the present study, the VAS will be used to assess pain experienced in the elbow region during activity.
This page summarises publicly available registry data for informational purposes — not medical advice. Eligibility is determined by each study team; patients should discuss participation with their clinician.
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