Tenex Procedure

Treating chronic tendon pain without surgery

 

Tenex Procedure

 
 

Tennis elbow trouble in Phoenix? Sobel Spine and Sports offers personalized treatments to address your specific needs. Experience the difference our sports medicine expertise can make. Your journey to recovery starts here.

Do you suffer from tennis elbow, Achilles tendinitis, or some other nagging tendon pain? Dr. Jerry Sobel offers a minimally invasive, non-surgical treatment for chronic tendon pain that has already been used in over 65,000 successful procedures–Tenex.

What Is Chronic Tendon Pain?

Tendons are bands of tissue around your joints that connect muscle to bones, allowing you to bend, walk, jump, and move in general. Healthy tendons are able to make these motions easily and smoothly, but when they are damaged, movement can become painful and restricted. Left untreated, this pain and reduced range of motion will worsen over time.

Chronic tendon pain is caused when a degenerative or injured tendon has developed scar tissue over a period of time. Scar tissue can form either from a sudden injury that has healed or from the repetition of a particular movement, which causes small tears that develop more and more scar tissue as the tendons tear and heal over and over.

Some common names for chronic tendon pain are tennis elbowgolfer’s elbowplantar fasciitisjumper’s knee, or Achilles tendonitis. These conditions all fall under an umbrella category for tendon injuries called tendinosis or tendinopathy.

Diagnosing tendinopathy usually starts with the doctor examining the affected limb or joint. After this, the doctor will usually order an x-ray, MRI, or ultrasound to diagnose the tendon more specifically.

Symptoms and Risk Factors

Tendinopathy can develop in any of the body’s tendons over time.

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Tenex: A Non-Surgical Treatment Option

Tenex is a non-surgical procedure to directly treat tendinopathy. This procedure is performed by Dr. Jerry Sobel who has expertise in diagnosing tendinopathy as well as ultrasound guided procedures.

Tenex utilizes a specially developed ultrasonic needle that oscillates at high frequency. This ultrasonic needle removes degenerated scar tissue in the tendon. The procedure is highly effective, has a comparatively short recovery time, and generally takes 30 minutes or less.

The Tenex Procedure

Dr. Sobel will start by cleaning off the appropriate area of the skin. Real time ultrasound imaging will be used to obtain a continual view of the damaged tendon. A local anesthetic is applied to numb the area surrounding the tendon so patients feel only a little bit of pressure during the procedure.

Next, Dr. Sobel inserts the Tenex ultrasonic needle through a very small incision (less than ¼ inch) near the affected tendon. The doctor uses ultrasound to see the scar tissue on the tendon, then uses the needle to break down and remove the scar tissue, leaving healthy tissue intact. After that, the needle is removed and the area is bandaged.

Patients are able to return home immediately after a Tenex procedure and recover quickly. Recovery time after Tenex is generally 6-8 weeks, about a quarter of the normal recovery time. After the procedure, most patients are able to use over the counter medications like Tylenol to relieve any pain.

To learn more about the Tenex Procedure click here.

Choose Tenex Today

If you’re tired of living with chronic tendon pain or tendinopathy, Tenex is a great option that will get you back to your regular activities quickly, without the prolonged recovery time that usually comes with surgical procedures.

To learn more about your eligibility for the Tenex procedure and schedule a consultation, contact Dr. Jerry Sobel at Sobel Spine and Sports at 602-385-4160

Watch this short video to see how the procedure is performed.

 

You should let Dr. Sobel know if you have a bleeding disorder or if you are using medications or herbal treatments that may affect bleeding. Examples include aspirin, warfarin, clopidogrel, ticlopidine, heparin, enoxaparin, and anti-inflammatory medications (such as ibuprofen, naproxen, nabumetone, diclofenac, etodolac, indomethacin, ketorolac, meloxicam, piroxicam, ketoprofen, or oxaprozin). NSAIDs should be stopped typically 3 days prior to procedure. Other medications should be discussed with your primary physician or cardiologist who will determine if and how to stop medication prior to procedure.

Click here to see a sample list of medication that needs to be stopped before the procedure.