This review discusses the available evidence to guide management of tennis elbow, a tendinopathy of the common extensor origin of the lateral elbow.  The authors look at the mechanism of injury and go on to discuss the following treatment options:

• Rehabilitation and graduated loading

• Oral pain relief and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs

• Do cortisone injections help

• Glyceryl trinitrate patches

• Autologous platelet-rich plasma injections

• Botulinum toxin A injection

• Surgery

• Extracorporeal shock wave treatment

The authors include the following summary points:

• Cortisone injections are harmful in the longer term and are no longer recommended in most cases

• Rehabilitation (exercise) based treatment is helpful, but to be effective patients must usually remove tendon overload

• Further research is needed on newer (minimally invasive) treatments, such as platelet-rich plasma injections, hyaluronan gel injections, and nitrate patches

• Reserve surgery and botulinum toxin injections for the worst cases because patients can take six months to return to full function

• Many cases of tennis elbow cases will naturally resolve in 6-12 months