Your elbow has developed a nagging pain that flares with certain movements, and you want relief. If we diagnose the underlying problem as tennis elbow, which, despite its name, can occur both on and off the courts, the good news is that a Tenjet tenotomy can bring you that relief.
As sports medicine and orthopaedic experts, our team at Genesis Orthopaedic and Spine knows exactly how uncomfortable tennis elbow can be, which is why we offer the TenJet tenotomy.
In the following, we take a look at what tennis elbow is and how a TenJet tenotomy resolves the problem (and the pain).
How tennis elbow occurs
The technical name for tennis elbow is lateral epicondylitis, and it occurs when the tendons that connect your forearm muscles to your elbow become damaged. This damage, which may be in the form of tiny tears in the soft tissues, leads to pain and inflammation in your elbow, which can limit the use of your arm.
The condition is called tennis elbow because it’s caused by repetitive motions that stress the muscles and tendons in your forearm that control extension in your wrist and fingers, such as playing a sport that involves swinging a racquet.
While tennis certainly fits the bill insofar as racquet sports, tennis elbow can occur any time you stress these tendons repeatedly. Off the courts, we’ve found that plumbers, painters, auto workers, and cooks are also more prone to tennis elbow, thanks to the repetitive movements of the wrists and elbows that these professions require.
TenJet to the rescue
Tennis elbow can be a nagging problem that doesn’t readily go away on its own, as you’re not able to fully rest the area to give the tendons time to heal properly. Absent proper healing, the tendon fibers in your elbow can break down and degenerate, and these damaged tissues further impede your tendon’s ability to repair itself.
Through a tenotomy (tendon removal), we can remove the damaged tissues so your tendon has the space to regain a healthier structure.
To accomplish this, we turn to the TenJet system, which is a nonthermal (no heat) treatment that targets the source of your tennis elbow pain.
The TenJet system features two, 12-gauge needles — one delivers a highly pressurized stream of saline that cuts away damaged tendon tissue while the other suctions out the damaged tissue.
At our practice, we’ve had great success with this minimally invasive approach to tennis elbow, especially when we combine it with regenerative medicine, namely platelet-rich plasma therapy, to give your soft tissues a boost in healing resources.
If you’re struggling with tennis elbow and you want fast relief, contact one of our offices in Westfield or West Orange, New Jersey, to learn more about how TenJet can help.
