Chronic pain affects about a fifth of American men and women, sometimes interfering with daily activities. While medication can help in some cases, these drugs can come with some unpleasant side effects, and they’re not always effective in keeping pain at bay.
In recent years, new chronic pain treatment methods have emerged, including minimally invasive techniques aimed at resolving the source of pain. One of those methods — focused aspiration of scar tissue (FAST) — focuses on removing scar tissue that can be a common source of chronic pain.
At his Sugar Land and Houston, Texas practice, J. Michael Bennett, MD, PA, offers FAST using the state-of-the-art Tenex Health TX® system to eliminate scar tissue that could interfere with normal movement. If you have chronic pain, here are four benefits of Tenex treatment you should know about.
Tenex removes scar tissue, but it does it without large incisions. Instead, it uses a very thin probe inserted through a tiny incision.
Like other minimally invasive treatments, Tenex doesn’t require general anesthesia, there’s no widespread tissue damage or bleeding, and the risk of infection is minimized compared to open surgeries. Plus, less tissue damage and a smaller incision mean you won’t need to worry about scarring.
This is one of the biggest benefits for anyone suffering from chronic pain. Because Tenex eliminates the scar tissue causing inflammation and pain, you can expect to feel better right after your treatment. You don’t need to worry about dose adjustments or prolonged periods of recovery that can happen with pain treatments like medication or surgery.
Medication and many other traditional therapies can help you manage your pain by reducing your symptoms. Some medicines can help relieve underlying inflammation, too.
But Tenex goes beyond that by removing scar tissue that causes chronic pain. By removing damaged tissue, Tenex helps restore normal movement without the long-term use of medicines or invasive surgery.
Unlike surgery, where recovery can take weeks (or longer), Tenex’s minimally invasive approach allows many patients to resume normal activities within a few days, with full recovery within 4-6 weeks. That means you can return to the activities you love without painful limitations. Getting back to your routine is essential physically and offers an emotional boost, too.
Because it’s minimally invasive, Tenex treatment is performed right in the office using a local anesthetic to numb the treatment site. Once the area is numb, Dr. Bennett makes a small incision to access the damaged tissue.
Next, he inserts the Tenex probe, advancing it to the area of damage. The probe features a small tip that breaks apart scar tissue and then aspirates it using suction to remove it from your body. The tip is extremely precise, treating only the scar tissue while leaving healthy tissue unharmed.
Afterward, Dr. Bennett applies a small bandage — no sutures are required. The procedure only takes about a half hour to perform.
Tenex technology is suitable for many areas of chronic pain, but it’s especially effective in treating shoulder, elbow, foot, and knee pain. To find out if it can help relieve your chronic pain symptoms, book an appointment online or over the phone with Dr. Bennett today.
