Device for treatment of tennis elbow

Editor's note: Updated information on Tenease and the components that make up the device is available.

Ranjan Vhadra, a leading orthopaedic surgeon has launched a MHRA approved medical device for the treatment of lateral epicondylitis, commonly known as Tennis Elbow, called Tenease.

Anyone who has experienced the pain of lateral epicondylitis will know that a trip to the doctors is often of little use as there are few options for treatment. Rest, strapping of the elbow, steroid injections, anti-inflammatory drugs and surgery are some of the courses of treatment that are often recommended to alleviate the pain. However, none are effective and all treatments carry some degree of risk or side effects.

Developed over the last seven years and patented worldwide, a new device has now been launched to treat Tennis Elbow called Tenease. Tenease works to alleviate the pain caused by the condition and is also reported to accelerate the recovery of some users. Small, portable and suitable for home use the device straps to the elbow and works with low frequency vibrations to stimulate blood flow to the area and stop the pain by impeding the transmission of the pain signals to the brain.

Vhadra, consultant orthapeodic surgeon and inventor of Tenease explains: "Tenease has evolved from research I carried out as a trainee surgeon. Vibration therapy has been available for many years with much research published in medical literature on its effectiveness. However, this treatment required large and expensive machines which meant the therapy was only available in hospital. We’ve been able to miniaturise the electronics used in the larger hospital machines so Tenease is now a portable, easy to use, safe and effective treatment that many tennis elbow sufferers are finding invaluable.”

There are many inventions that claim to be effective for pain relief which although harmless, have no scientific backing and are of little benefit to the user. Tenease has been rigorously tested by the MHRA, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Authority, over the last two years and has been awarded class IIa approval as a medical device for Tennis Elbow treatment. The product has been proven to work in medical trials and has been awarded a CE marking for sale in Europe.