The efficacy of a specific forearm brace (Go-Strap) compared to a standard counterforce brace in participants with tennis elbow.

Abstract

Physiotherapy management of tennis elbow typically incorporates a multimodal approach including application of a forearm brace. Good quality evidence comparing different braces in the management of tennis elbow is scarce. The aim of this study was to investigate if a novel forearm brace (Go-Strap brace, Thermoskin™) could improve pain-free grip, pressure pain threshold and wrist angle during a gripping task in people with tennis elbow compared with a standard counterforce brace and control condition. A repeated measures, crossover, double-blinded randomised control design was used. Thirty-five participants with a clinical diagnosis of tennis elbow (mean age 47.8 (SD 8.5) years) were measured before and after the application of a Go-Strap brace, a counterforce brace and control condition in a randomised order, a minimum of 48 hours between sessions. There was a significant main effect for time, with both braces significantly improving grip (Mean difference (95% CI): Go-Strap 22 N (8 to 36), counterforce 22 N (9 to 35)) and pressure (Go-Strap 48 kPa (2 to 93), counterforce 59 kPa (16 to 102)) pre- to post-application. There was no significant change with the control condition for any outcome. There was no significant difference between treatments for any outcome (grip: p=0.363; pressure: p=0.480; wrist angle: p=0.203). In addition, wrist angle did not significantly change over time. These results indicate that while the application of a forearm brace has an immediate positive effect on grip and pressure pain in participants with tennis elbow, the type of brace does not preferentially influence these outcomes.