INTRODUCTION: Although conservative treatment is still the best initial management for lateral epicondylitis, there is little scientific evidence that physical therapy change the natural history of disease and is effective for treating this condition. Objective: evaluate the effectiveness and safety of different physical therapy interventions used in the conservative treatment of lateral epicondylitis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We included only randomized controlled trials and quasi-randomized studies that used at least one modality of physical therapy as an intervention. We performed a search of electronic databases MEDLINE, Embase, LILACS and SciELO by December 2010. There was no restriction of the period and publication of articles aiming to increase the sensitivity and accuracy; the search strategy used was adapted for each database. We used the score of the PEDro scale for assessing the methodological quality of randomized controlled trials. RESULTS: 26 articles were included in the systematic review, and the evaluation of most of these articles had satisfactory methodological quality (6.4 points). Regarding the aspects measured, all articles evaluated pain, 18 (69%) examined the grip strength and 11 (42%) examined the patient's function. The duration of follow-up, only nine (35%) articles made long-term monitoring. CONCLUSION: The best option for the treatment of lateral epicondylitis seems to be a combination of therapeutic modalities, which agrees with clinical reality of the physiotherapists. However, more clinical trials with good methodological quality are needed to determine the effectiveness of most therapeutic modalities found.
Tennis elbow; Rehabilitation; Physiotherapy
