Comparison of muscle energy technique and oscillating energy manual therapy in patients with lateral epicondylitis: A Randomized Controlled Trial
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33897/fujrs.v6i2.561Keywords:
grip strength, manual therapies, pain, range of motion, tennis elbowAbstract
Background: Lateral Epicondylitis is a condition that occurs at the common extensor origin of the lateral humerus, caused by overuse of the extensor carpi radialis brevis tendon.
Objective: To compare the effects of Muscle Energy Technique and oscillating energy manual therapy in patients with lateral epicondylitis.
Methods: This parallel-group randomized controlled trial (RIPHAH/RCRS/REC/Letter-01053) was a single blind study with 34 patients suffering from lateral epicondylitis, randomly assigned to the MET (n = 17) or OEMT (n = 17) group. Both groups received eight treatment sessions over four weeks. At baseline, the 4th and 8th sessions, pain, grip strength, and functional disability were measured by NPRS, PRTEE, and a hand-held dynamometer. The Mann–Whitney U and Friedman tests were used for data analysis.
Results: There was no significant difference between the groups for grip strength and PRTEE pain scores (p > 0.05), however there was significant difference between the groups for NPRS and PRTEE functional disability scores (p < 0.05). Both groups had a significant improvement over time in pain, grip strength, and functional disability (p<0.05). A statistically significant difference was observed between groups at post-test after the 4th and 8th session on outcome measures (p < 0.05).
Conclusion: MET and OEMT are both effective methods at reducing pain and functional impairment and increasing grip strength in lateral epicondylitis patients. The results were similar for both groups, with slightly more improvements seen in the MET group, but with some outcome measures differing at baseline, this should be interpreted with caution.
Clinical Trial Number: NCT05354167
References
Cutts S, Gangoo S, Modi N, Pasapula C. Tennis elbow: a clinical review article. J Orthop. 2020;17:203-7.
Nourbakhsh MR, Fearon FJ. The effect of oscillating-energy manual therapy on lateral epicondylitis: a randomized, placebo-control, double-blinded study. J Hand Ther. 2008;21(1):4-14.
Johnson GW, Cadwallader K, Scheffel SB, Epperly TD. Treatment of lateral epicondylitis. Am Fam Physician. 2007;76(6):843-8.
Tosti R, Jennings J, Sewards JM. Lateral epicondylitis of the elbow. Am J Med. 2013;126(4):357.e1-357.e6.
Chesterton LS, Mallen CD, Hay EM. Management of tennis elbow. Open Access J Sports Med. 2011;2:53-9.
Aben A, De Wilde L, Hollevoet N, Henriquez C, Vandeweerdt M, Ponnet K, et al. Tennis elbow: associated psychological factors. J Shoulder Elbow Surg. 2018;27(3):387-92.
Blonna D, Hoxha N, Greco V, Rivoira C, Bonasia DE, Rossi R. When lateral epicondylitis is not lateral epicondylitis: analysis of the risk factors for the misdiagnosis of lateral elbow pain. Am J Sports Med. 2025;53(5):1195-201.
Weber C, Thai V, Neuheuser K, Groover K, Christ O. Efficacy of physical therapy for the treatment of lateral epicondylitis: a meta-analysis. BMC Musculoskelet Disord. 2015;16(1):223.
Fryer G. Muscle energy technique: an evidence-informed approach. Int J Osteopath Med. 2011;14(1):3-9.
Keijsers R, de Vos R, Kuijer P, van den Bekerom M, van der Woude H, Eygendaal D. Tennis elbow. Shoulder Elbow. 2019;11(5):384-92.
Kumar V, Kothawala B. A comparative study of muscle energy technique versus Cyriax technique in lateral epicondylitis among professional Indian cooks. Int J Sci Basic Appl Res. 2019;9(6):363-73.
Küçük?en S, Yilmaz H, Sall? A, U?urlu H. Muscle energy technique versus corticosteroid injection for management of chronic lateral epicondylitis: randomized controlled trial with 1-year follow-up. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2013;94(11):2068-74.
Tsze DS, von Baeyer CL, Pahalyants V, Dayan PS. Validity and reliability of the verbal numerical rating scale for children aged 4 to 17 years with acute pain. Ann Emerg Med. 2018;71(6):691-702.e3.
Hamilton A, Balnave R, Adams R. Grip strength testing reliability. J Hand Ther. 1994;7(3):163-70.
Naik V, Phadke R, Vikrant P. Effectiveness of MET V/S Marhythe in individuals with chronic lateral epicondylitis: a randomized clinical trial. Int J Physiother. 2020;7(4). doi:10.15621/ijphy/2020/v7i4/745.
Sarin A, Jetly S, Michael. To study the effectiveness of Cyriax manual therapy vs. muscle energy technique in subjects with tennis elbow on pain, grip strength and functional disability. J Physiother Phys Rehabil. 2018;3. doi:10.4172/2573-0312.1000159.
Trivedi P, Arunachalam R, Vaittianadane K. Efficacy of muscle energy technique with plyometric exercises in chronic lateral epicondylitis. Int J Health Sci Res. 2019;9(2):108-14.
Unnisa R, Sivajyothi N, Rahman M, Ahmed I. METs and oscillating energy manual therapy in chronic lateral epicondylosis: a comparative study. Int J Res Pharm Sci. 2019;10(3):1914-9.
Novianti IGASW, Ayu IAASI, Suadnyana A, Made IMDPI, Prianthara D, et al. Comparison of the effectiveness of muscle energy technique and eccentric exercise in reducing disability in tennis elbow sufferers. Southeast Asian J Trop Med Public Health. 2024;54(Suppl 2):106-19.
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Huma Mehrin Khan , Zainab Noor Qazi, Ilsa Waqi Khunsha, Jassia Ramzan Malik, Ayesha Arshad, Ayesha Saddiqa
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
All Articles are made available under a Creative Commons "Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International" license. Copyrights on any open-access article published by the Foundation University Journal of Rehabilitation Sciences (FUJRS) are retained by the author(s). FUJRS is an open-access journal that allows free access to its published articles, in addition, to copy and use for research and academic purposes; provided the article is correctly cited. FUJRS does not allow commercial use of the articles published in FUJRS. All articles published represent the view of the author(s) and do not reflect the official policy of FUJRS.
