Different therapeutic interventions are used to manage patients with lateral elbow
tendinopathy (LET). Astym treatment is an emerging rehabilitation approach used to promote
healing and regeneration of soft tissue conditions; however, there is limited research on its
effectiveness for individuals with LET. The purpose of this research study was to determine
if the addition of Astym treatment to standard occupational therapy (OT) interventions
improved Focus on Therapeutic Outcomes (FOTO) functional status (FS) measures, numeric
pain rating scale (NPRS) scores, standard grip strength and provocative grip strength for
individuals with LET more than standard OT interventions. A retrospective study using data
from 222 individuals with LET was conducted. Patients were placed in two groups for
comparison: Astym treatment and standard OT interventions (AG) and standard OT
interventions (SG). All outcome scores significantly improved for both groups. Except for
higher pain score at the intake evaluation for the AG group, there were no significant
differences on all outcomes between groups. Results of this study indicate that standard OT
interventions and standard OT interventions with the addition of Astym produce significant
improvements in FOTO FS measures, NPRS scores, standard grip strength and provocative
grip strength for patients with LET. Further research is needed to determine if the addition of
Astym produces superior results when added to standard OT interventions.