Radio Waves to Heal Tendons

Many individuals, particularly athletes and those who perform physical labor, are at risk of injuring tendons. Tendons in the elbow, arm, ankle, wrist and back are the most frequently injured and re-injured. Traditionally, highly invasive surgery was required each time a tendon was injured, causing the formation of scar tissue that was easy to tear. However, technological developments promise a less invasive surgery that delivers low frequency radio waves to the site of injury which can can help in the reduction of tendonitis.

Procedure

• After a mild anesthetic, small incisions are made around the affected tendon. A small wand-like device is passed through the incisions, and radio waves are admitted from the wand to the tendon. The incisions are stitched closed and you are permitted to go home as soon as you have recovered from the effects of the anesthetic. This procedure is normally done in an outpatient setting.

Radio Waves

• The radio waves work by helping to heal the tendon faster. This procedure, in general, means a faster healing time due to the lack of intensive invasive surgery. Intensive invasive surgery often causes damage to the skin and muscle areas around the tendon, which causes the recovery process to be slow. However, with this minimally invasive method, recovery time is increased and the chance of secondary infection that accompanies highly invasive surgeries is drastically reduced.

Disadvantage

• The more the tendon is repaired, the weaker and weaker the tendon gets. Therefore, until the medical field defines a method of reducing this effect, the risk of weakening the tendon after multiple radio wave treatments still exists.