Lateral epicondylitis is tested with which maneuver?

• A. Cozen's test
• B. Phalen's test
• C. Finkelstein's test
• D. Tinel's sign

Answer: (A)

Lateral epicondylitis is an overuse tendinopathy at the common extensor origin, especially the extensor carpi radialis brevis. To provoke symptoms, a maneuver that loads and strains those wrist extensors near their origin is used. Cozen's test does exactly that: with the elbow extended and the forearm pronated, the patient resists wrist extension (often by making a fist and extending the wrist against resistance). Reproduction of lateral elbow pain here indicates pathology at the extensor origin, supporting a diagnosis of lateral epicondylitis.

Other tests target different structures: Phalen's test screens for median nerve compression in carpal tunnel, Finkelstein's test assesses De Quervain's tenosynovitis at the thumb tendons, and Tinel's sign detects nerve irritation along a nerve path (such as the ulnar nerve at the elbow). These do not specifically stress the common extensor origin at the elbow.