An interventional study of Pulsed Electromagnetic Field Therapy and Sham Pulsed Electromagnetic Field Therapy in Lateral Epicondylitis, sponsored by Ali Güneri. Not yet recruiting. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 65 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-09-03.
Sponsored by Ali Güneri · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment
This randomized, sham-controlled, assessor-blinded clinical trial will evaluate the efficacy of pulsed electromagnetic field therapy (PEMF) added to extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) in adults with lateral epicondylitis. A total of 70 participants will be randomly assigned to receive either ESWT plus active PEMF or ESWT plus sham PEMF. Both groups will also receive the same standardized home exercise program. Treatment will be administered once weekly for 5 weeks. Participants will be assessed before treatment, at the end of the 5-week treatment period, and 3 months after treatment. The primary outcome will be the Patient-Rated Tennis Elbow Evaluation (PRTEE) total score. Secondary outcomes will include pain intensity measured using the Numeric Rating Scale, pressure pain threshold, maximum and pain-free grip strength, and ultrasonographic assessment of the common extensor tendon, including tendon thickness, hypoechogenicity, and fibrillar pattern abnormalities.
296 studies on the registry are indexed under Tennis Elbow; 64 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 70 is above the median of 50 across 262 interventional studies indexed under Tennis Elbow.
Browse Tennis Elbow studies →This is the only study on the registry with Ali Güneri as lead sponsor.
Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.
Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.
Exclusion Criteria:
Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
Anti-inflammatory medicines such as prednisone, prednisolone and dexamethasone — not the anabolic steroids used for muscle.
Studies differ in what they allow: check which steroid medicines, routes (tablets, injections, creams, inhalers, eye drops) and doses this study accepts.
Blood cells that help blood clot. Too few raises the risk of bleeding and bruising. A usual adult range is about 150–400 × 10⁹/L (150,000–400,000 per µL); each lab has its own reference range.
A blood test of average blood sugar over the past two to three months, given as a percentage or in mmol/mol. 6.5% (48 mmol/mol) or more is the usual threshold for diabetes, normally confirmed by a second test.
Malignancy means cancer. Criteria about another or earlier malignancy ask whether you have had a different cancer, usually within a set number of years.
Some are commonly allowed, such as treated skin cancers other than melanoma and early cancers removed completely — check the exceptions this study lists.
Informed consent
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Corticosteroids (steroids)
Anti-inflammatory medicines such as prednisone, prednisolone and dexamethasone — not the anabolic steroids used for muscle.
Studies differ in what they allow: check which steroid medicines, routes (tablets, injections, creams, inhalers, eye drops) and doses this study accepts.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Platelets
Blood cells that help blood clot. Too few raises the risk of bleeding and bruising. A usual adult range is about 150–400 × 10⁹/L (150,000–400,000 per µL); each lab has its own reference range.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
HbA1c
A blood test of average blood sugar over the past two to three months, given as a percentage or in mmol/mol. 6.5% (48 mmol/mol) or more is the usual threshold for diabetes, normally confirmed by a second test.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Cancer (malignancy)
Malignancy means cancer. Criteria about another or earlier malignancy ask whether you have had a different cancer, usually within a set number of years.
Some are commonly allowed, such as treated skin cancers other than melanoma and early cancers removed completely — check the exceptions this study lists.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Participants will receive active pulsed electromagnetic field therapy (PEMF) followed by extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) once weekly for 5 weeks. All participants will also receive the same standardized home exercise program.
Device: Pulsed Electromagnetic Field Therapy · Device: Extracorporeal Shock Wave Therapy · Behavioral: Home Exercise Program
Participants will receive sham pulsed electromagnetic field therapy (PEMF) followed by the same extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) protocol once weekly for 5 weeks. The sham device will have the same appearance, sound, and light signals as the active device but will not generate a therapeutic electromagnetic field. All participants will also receive the same standardized home exercise program.
Device: Sham Pulsed Electromagnetic Field Therapy · Device: Extracorporeal Shock Wave Therapy · Behavioral: Home Exercise Program
Active pulsed electromagnetic field therapy will be applied before each ESWT session for 30 minutes, once weekly for 5 weeks. According to the study protocol, PEMF will be delivered at 25 Hz and 4.6 Hz sequentially, with a total of 6 mT per session.
Also known as: PEMF
Sham PEMF will be applied before ESWT using the same duration and positioning as active PEMF. The device will have the same appearance, sound, and light signals as the active device but will not generate a therapeutic electromagnetic field.
Also known as: Sham PEMF
Extracorporeal shock wave therapy will be applied to the point of maximum tenderness over the lateral epicondyle using 2000 shocks per session at 1.5-2.0 bar and 10 Hz, once weekly for 5 weeks. Transmission gel will be used and local anesthesia will not be administered.
Also known as: ESWT
All participants will receive the same standardized home exercise program. The program will include eccentric wrist extension (3 sets of 15 repetitions once daily), isometric wrist extension (3 sets of 30-second contractions once daily), and static stretching exercises targeting the forearm flexor and extensor muscle groups (3 sets of 30-second holds twice daily). The exercises will be demonstrated individually at the first session and supported with a written and visual exercise brochure. Exercise adherence will be checked and recorded weekly before each treatment session.
Change in Patient-Rated Tennis Elbow Evaluation (PRTEE) Total Score
The PRTEE is a lateral epicondylitis-specific questionnaire consisting of a pain subscale and a function subscale. The total score ranges from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating greater pain and functional impairment.
Time frame: Baseline, end of the 5-week treatment period, and 3 months after treatment completion
Change in PRTEE Pain Subscale Score
The PRTEE pain subscale consists of 5 items and ranges from 0 to 50, with higher scores indicating greater pain.
Time frame: Baseline, end of the 5-week treatment period, and 3 months after treatment completion
Change in PRTEE Function Subscale Score
The PRTEE function subscale consists of 10 items and ranges from 0 to 50, with higher scores indicating greater functional impairment.
Time frame: Baseline, end of the 5-week treatment period, and 3 months after treatment completion
Change in Pain Intensity Measured by the Numeric Rating Scale
Pain intensity will be assessed using an 11-point Numeric Rating Scale ranging from 0 to 10, where 0 indicates no pain and 10 indicates the worst imaginable pain.
Time frame: Baseline, end of the 5-week treatment period, and 3 months after treatment completion
Change in Pressure Pain Threshold
Pressure pain threshold over the lateral epicondyle will be measured using a pressure algometer with a 1.0 cm² probe. Three measurements will be obtained and the mean value will be recorded in kg/cm².
Time frame: Baseline, end of the 5-week treatment period, and 3 months after treatment completion
Change in Maximum Grip Strength
Maximum grip strength will be measured using a Jamar hydraulic hand dynamometer. Three measurements will be performed and the mean value will be recorded in kilograms (kg).
Time frame: Baseline, end of the 5-week treatment period, and 3 months after treatment completion
Change in Pain-Free Grip Strength
Pain-free grip strength will be measured using a Jamar hydraulic hand dynamometer. Three measurements will be performed and the mean value will be recorded in kilograms (kg).
Time frame: Baseline, end of the 5-week treatment period, and 3 months after treatment completion
Change in Common Extensor Tendon Thickness
Common extensor tendon thickness will be assessed by ultrasonography in the longitudinal plane at the lateral epicondyle origin. Maximum tendon thickness will be recorded in millimeters (mm).
Time frame: Baseline, end of the 5-week treatment period, and 3 months after treatment completion
Change in Common Extensor Tendon Hypoechogenicity
The presence of hypoechoic areas within the common extensor tendon will be assessed by ultrasonography and recorded as present or absent.
Time frame: Baseline, end of the 5-week treatment period, and 3 months after treatment completion
Change in Common Extensor Tendon Fibrillar Pattern
Abnormality of the fibrillar pattern of the common extensor tendon will be assessed by ultrasonography and recorded as present or absent.
Time frame: Baseline, end of the 5-week treatment period, and 3 months after treatment completion
No study locations are listed for this record.
Plan to share: Undecided — The plan for sharing individual participant data has not yet been finalized and will be determined in accordance with ethical approval, participant consent, and the data-sharing requirements of the journal at the time of publication.
No publications or documents are linked to this record.
Start is estimated for Sep 2026; primary completion for Jan 2027, 4 months later.
Of 152 non-industry interventional studies with no phase under Tennis Elbow, half reached primary completion within 8 months of starting (the median), counting those still running; a quarter within 5 and three quarters within 24. This study's planned 4 months is below that.
Counting every sponsor, half of 154 studies reached it within 8 months; a quarter within 5 and three quarters within 22.
How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.
This study is not yet recruiting, as verified in Aug 2026. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.
Get an email when the registry record changes — status, dates, results — or when someone posts here.
Sign in to followQuestions and observations about this study, from anyone following it. Not medical advice, and not a channel to the study team — their contact details are on the registry record.
Sign in to join the discussion. Reading takes no account; posting does. You choose a display name, and a pseudonym is the default.
Nothing here yet. If you are running this trial, taking part in it, or weighing whether to, this is the place to say so.