Patient characteristics at baseline (n = 181)
| Characteristic | Number of patients* | Per cent |
|---|---|---|
| *Value are mean (SD) for continuous scales or n. | ||
| †Patients with concomitant neck, shoulder, arm, hand, or wrist complaints. | ||
| ‡Asthma, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, cancer, psychological problems. | ||
| §Percentage of women. | ||
| ¶ACSM, American College of Sports Medicine.18 | ||
| Sociodemographic factors | ||
| Sex (female) | 120 | 66 |
| Age (years) | 47.9 (11.6) | |
| Employed | 112 | 63 |
| Education level: | ||
| primary | 75 | 41 |
| secondary | 84 | 46 |
| college/university | 21 | 12 |
| Married/living together | 138 | 76 |
| Body mass index | 25.8 (3.9) | |
| Having children | 88 | 49 |
| Smoking (now, ever) | 128 | 71 |
| Baseline scores outcome measures | ||
| Pain intensity (scale 0–10) | 5.3 (2.1) | |
| Disability at baseline (scale 0–100) | 34.6 (20.4) | |
| Characteristics of the complaint | ||
| Duration of current episode: | ||
| <1 week | 9 | 5 |
| 1 week to 1 month | 49 | 27 |
| 1 month to 6 months | 77 | 43 |
| >6 months | 42 | 23 |
| History of elbow complaints | 97 | 54 |
| Discomfort caused by complaint: | ||
| no discomfort | 5 | 3 |
| now and then | 30 | 17 |
| regularly | 57 | 31 |
| almost continuously | 89 | 49 |
| Generalised complaint† | 131 | 72 |
| Complaint at dominant elbow | 98 | 54 |
| Complaint at both elbows | 25 | 14 |
| Use of medication | 70 | 39 |
| Symptoms: | ||
| Tingling in hand/fingers | 79 | 44 |
| numbness feeling in hand/fingers | 46 | 25 |
| loss of strength | 96 | 53 |
| loss of hand coordination | 16 | 9 |
| tendency to shake hands | 43 | 24 |
| tendency to massage hands | 81 | 45 |
| Putative cause of the complaint: | ||
| overload due to usual activities | 100 | 55 |
| overload due to unusual activities | 23 | 13 |
| overload due to sports | 16 | 9 |
| accident during sports/exercise | 0 | 0 |
| accident elsewhere | 14 | 8 |
| anxiety/stress | 24 | 13 |
| chronic disease | 11 | 6 |
| other cause | 25 | 14 |
| unknown | 40 | 22 |
| Comorbidity (musculoskeletal) | ||
| No comorbidity | 70 | 39 |
| Complaints hip/knee | 42 | 23 |
| Complaints ankle/foot | 28 | 15 |
| Complaints back | 76 | 42 |
| Multiple musculoskeletal complaints | 29 | 16 |
| Other diseases/problems‡ | 79 | 44 |
| Menopause§ | 28 | 23 |
| Physical activity | ||
| ACSM position stand¶ | 20 | 11 |
| Norm healthy activity16 | 72 | 40 |
| Psychosocial factors | ||
| Coping with pain: | ||
| pain transformation (scale 4–16) | 8.6 (2.6) | |
| distraction (scale 5–20) | 10.8 (3.3) | |
| reducing demands (scale 3–12) | 6.1 (2.0) | |
| retreating (scale 7–28) | 11.1 (4.0) | |
| worrying (scale 9–36) | 16.6 (5.0) | |
| resting (scale 5–20) | 9.6 (3.2) | |
| Distress (scale 0–12) | ||
| Kinesiophobia: | ||
| fear - avoidance (scale 0–100) | 52.3 (16.7) | |
| importance of exercise (scale 0–100) | 59.9 (20.7) | |
| Social support (scale 12–60) | 19.1 (8.1) | |
| General health | ||
| Perceived health (scale 1–5) | 3.0 (0.9) | |
| Quality of life (scale 1–5) | 3.2 (0.9) | |
| Vitality (scale 0–100) | 57.2 (20.2) | |