Objective Patients with tennis elbow have obvious pain symptoms, which will affect the function and range of motion of their elbow joints and reduce their grip strength. This study proposes to use extracorporeal shock wave therapy for patients with tennis elbow in order to relieve pain and improve the range of motion of the elbow joints and grip strength.Methods According to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 96 patients with tennis elbow were screened for a grouped controlled study. The grouping method was the random number table method. They were divided into two groups. One group was the control group with 48 cases, which was treated with local injection of blocking agents. The other group was the observation group with 48 cases, which was treated with extracorporeal shock wave therapy on the basis of local injection of blocking agents. The clinical treatment effects of the two groups were compared, including the levels of serum pain factors, the range of motion of the elbow joint, pain-free grip strength and the recurrence rate.Results The indexes of serum pain factors include beta-endorphin (β-EP), substance P (SP), and neuropeptide Y (NPY). After treatment, the levels of the above three serum pain factors in the observation group were all lower than those in the control group(P<0.05). The GEMREN orthopedic joint goniometer was used to measure the range of motion of the elbow joints of the patients. After treatment, the ranges of motion of external rotation, internal rotation, hyperextension, and flexion of the elbow joints in the observation group were all greater than those in the control group(P<0.05). The Shanghai Manxin WCS-100 electronic grip dynamometer was used to measure the pain-free grip strength of the patients. After treatment, the pain-free grip strength in the observation group was greater than that in the control group (P<0.05). During the 6-month follow-up, 2 cases in the observation group had recurrence, with a recurrence rate of 4.17%, which was significantly lower than 20.83% (10/48) in the control group, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). Conclusion Extracorporeal shock wave therapy for tennis elbow has a good clinical effect. It can not only effectively reduce the levels of pain factors in patients and relieve their pain, but also enhance the range of motion of the elbow joints and pain-free grip strength of patients and effectively control recurrence.