Observation and Nursing of the Therapeutic Effect of Extracorporeal Shock Wave Therapy on Tennis Elbow

Introduction

Tennis elbow is a sterile inflammation caused by long-term arm waving and stretching of the elbow joint, resulting in certain damage between the humerus and the common extensor tendon of the elbow (Marei et al.,2022). It is an occupational disease. The etiology of tennis elbow is currently complex. The incidence rate of minors is low. It is common for those who need to repeatedly exercise their wrist joints and rotate their forearms, and tennis, badminton players, and bricklayers are at risk (Buchbinder et al.,2006). The main symptoms of this disease are pain on the outer side of the elbow, which can be traction and affect the upper and lower arms of the elbow joint. The grip strength decreases, and the elbow and wrist joints are not suitable for manual labor. Severe cases may even affect daily life (Cho et al.,2016). There are currently many clinical methods for treating tennis elbow. Both traditional Chinese medicine and western medicine have treatment methods, such as rest, taking analgesic drugs, local blocking, acupuncture and moxibustion, etc., but there are some differences in the treatment cycle and recovery effect (Cho et al.,2012). Extracorporeal shock wave therapy is a type of shock wave therapy that effectively treats patients' diseases using pulsed sound waves (Aydın & Atiç, 2018). It stimulates the patient's pain area through medium conduction and moving the probe, which has a good effect on tennis elbow disease (Dedes et al.,2020).

There have been certain research results on the therapeutic effect of extracorporeal shock waves on tennis elbow. Some researchers suggest that tennis elbow disease is formed under the influence of various sports. Tennis elbow is mainly caused by excessive strain, stretching, arm rotation, and excessive force during long-term movement of the elbow joint, resulting in the tearing of the connection between the common tendon and the elbow joint. A chronic aseptic inflammation occurs, with local compression of blood vessels and nerves, resulting in clinical symptoms such as elbow pain, inability to grip, and difficulty raising the arm (Xiong et al.,2019). Extracorporeal shock waves are based on the strong wave principle of physical mechanical pulse stamping. By accurately determining the location of pain in patients with shock waves, local treatment relies on mechanical stress effects, piezoelectric effects, pain relief, etc. (Singh & Ningthemba, 2022).

The study aims to promote and accelerate local blood circulation by propagating mechanical pulse pressing strong waves between various tissues, forming a gradient difference between energy and torsion, and releasing nerves compressed by the common tendon of the forearm extensor muscle, thereby reducing pain perception in patients. At the same time, it continuously activates peripheral cell vitality and forms free radicals to suppress pain, achieving the effect of treating tennis elbow. Some researchers have compared the effectiveness of centrifugal contraction training, extracorporeal shock wave therapy, and a combination of the two in treating tennis elbow disease (Harniman et al.,2004). It was found that compared to before treatment, the three treatment methods showed a significant decrease in pain visual simulation scores and an increase in grip strength values after treatment (Karaca et al.,2022). The combination of the two treatment methods has a higher therapeutic effect and overall effectiveness than centrifugal contraction training and extracorporeal shock wave therapy (Rompe et al.,2009).