Steroids worsen tennis elbow long-term

Neither physiotherapy nor corticosteroid injections improve long-term outcomes in chronic tennis elbow, an Australian study finds.

The randomised placebo-controlled trial found that while both approaches delivered some short-term pain relief, neither significantly reduced long-term outcomes or recurrence rates.

Patients given corticosteroids actually fared worse at one year follow-up than those given a placebo injection — even if they received physiotherapy as well, the study found.

Published Wednesday