The Effect of Orthoses on Treatment of Lateral Epicondylitis: a Systematic review

Lateral epicondylitis, or tennis elbow, is one of the common disorders in humans. Despite recommended treatments, there is no definite therapy for this disorder. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to review scientific reports on the effects of orthotic devices for treatment (comparing orthoses with other treatments related to lateral epicondylitis parameters), reducing complications, and improving symptoms of this condition. Ovid, Scopus, and Web of science were searched to identify studies which reported the effectiveness of orthotic treatment for lateral epicondylitis from 1996 until 2017. Studies were collected based on the inclusion criteria and a few were selected out of a large number of studies. The PEDro scale was used for the quality assessment of the selected articles. A total of 43 articles were chosen, 16 articles on Orthotics vs. other nonsurgical treatments, 20 articles on the comparison of different orthotics, and 7 reviews. Based on the results of the selected papers, there was not sufficient evidence to decide on the effectiveness among several orthoses or for comparing orthotic treatment with other treatment methods. However, it should be emphasized that the use of orthosis can be an acceptable treatment for improving some symptoms of this condition such as pain, grip, pain-free grip, no pain, grip strength, function, ROM, and proprioception.