Sports Medicine and Injury Care in New Jersey

Orthobiologic Treatments

These treatments attempt to utilize our body's innate healing potential by using cells/growth factors to help facilitate healing and improve pain. Conditions that may benefit include degenerative arthritis, acute and chronic tendon injuries, as well as ligamentous sprains.

• Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP): injections of your own blood help rebuild damaged tissue and treat joint pain after an acute sports injury, such as ligament and muscle injuries, tennis elbow and golfer's elbow.
• Bone Marrow Aspirate (BMAC): use your body’s natural ability to heal itself by using regenerative cells from your bone marrow to accelerate healing in osteoarthritis or tendon injuries.

Tendon-Related Pain/Tendinopathy

Tendon-related pain secondary to overuse and or physiologic degeneration can be debilitating for many. Conditions such as tennis/golfer's elbow, gluteal/patella/achilles tendinosis, or calcific tendinitis are examples of conditions treated with these minimally invasive treatments.

• Tenex/Percutaneous Tenotomy under Ultrasound Guidance uses ultrasound imaging to guide a tiny needle-like instrument that delivers ultrasonic energy to break down and remove damaged tendon tissue
• Shockwave treatment utilizes high-energy sound waves to stimulate biological responses, including increased blood flow, reduced inflammation, and tissue regeneration, ultimately aiming to alleviate pain and promote healing in damaged tissues.

Joint-Specific Treatments with Imaging Guidance

These treatments are commonly performed to help improve pain and function in patients who may not be ready for surgery or may not be optimal surgical candidates. The addition of ultrasound can help improve accuracy and decrease pain compared to injections.

• Corticosteroid and Hyaluronic Acid Injections, when used in combination with rehabilitation therapy, can significantly reduce the need for surgery.
• Radiofrequency Ablation (RFA) employs a precisely placed needle, often guided by X-ray or ultrasound, to deliver radiofrequency energy to targeted nerve endings. This thermal energy creates a lesion, disrupting the nerve's ability to transmit pain signals to the brain. It can be utilized for chronic low back pain as well as chronic joint pain.
• Cryoneurolysis (Iovera) uses a handheld device to deliver controlled doses of cold to targeted peripheral nerves around the knee. This cold therapy temporarily freezes the nerve tissue, interrupting its ability to transmit pain signals. This can be used prior to a total knee replacement to help with postoperative pain management or for chronic knee pain.

Spine Related Pain Treatments

• Epidural Steroid injections are used to treat radiculopathy (sciatica) by reducing inflammation and pain caused by irritated or compressed spinal nerve roots. The procedure is typically performed by fluoroscopically guided injection of a corticosteroid and a local anesthetic into the epidural space near the affected nerves.
• Nerve blocks/Medial branch radiofrequency ablation (RFA) is a technique that uses heat generated by radiofrequency waves to destroy medial branch nerves, which transmit pain signals from facet joints in the spine. This procedure is commonly performed for chronic neck or lower back pain caused by facet joint arthritis
• Sacroiliac Joint Treatments include image guided joint and periarticular corticosteroid injections for pain. For patients suffering from chronic sacroiliac joint related pains, physicians can precisely inject the joint with anesthetic or steroid to help alleviate pain. This is typically conducted utilizing live x-ray or at times ultrasound.

Physical Therapy/Integrative Medicine

• Physical Therapy focuses on restoring mobility, and improving strength through techniques like exercises, manual therapy, and modalities such as heat or cold therapy.
• Occupational Therapy focuses on improving pain and restoring independence by using interventions such as therapeutic exercises, ergonomic education, adaptive equipment, and training in activities of daily living (ADLs).
• Osteopathic Medical Manipulation and Chiropractic Manipulation both focus on joint mobilization techniques.
• Acupuncture stimulates the release of endorphins and anti-inflammatory pathways that help suppress pain transmission.

Arthroscopic Repair of the knee, shoulder, elbow, hip, ankle, or wrist uses a small incision and tiny camera to examine and repair the tissues inside or around your joint. It’s used to treat SLAP tears, Bankart tears, tennis elbow and rotator cuff injuries.

Arthroscopic Surgery: This minimally invasive technique uses small incisions and a camera to visualize and repair problems within joints. Examples include shoulder and knee arthroscopy for conditions like rotator cuff tears, meniscus tears, and labral tears.

BEAR: A surgical technique that uses an implant to help a patient's own torn ACL heal, rather than replacing it. This approach allows patients to keep their native ligament - avoiding the bone tunnels and graft harvesting required in traditional reconstruction - which is especially beneficial for young patients.

Ligament Reconstruction: Ligaments provide stability to joints, and surgery is often needed to repair torn or damaged ligaments. ACL reconstruction is a common procedure to repair the anterior cruciate ligament in the knee.

Joint Replacement: This surgery replaces damaged joints with artificial implants, often for severe arthritis or injuries. Examples include hip, knee, and shoulder replacements.

Rotator Cuff Repair: This surgery repairs tears in the rotator cuff muscles and tendons of the shoulder, which can cause pain and limited range of motion.

Meniscus Repair: Meniscus tears in the knee can be repaired or, if the tear is severe, the damaged part of the meniscus may be removed (meniscectomy).

SLAP Repair: This surgery repairs tears in the superior labrum of the shoulder joint, which can cause pain and instability.

Tommy John Surgery: This procedure reconstructs the ulnar collateral ligament in the elbow, which is often injured in throwing athletes.