Skip to main content
Mayo Clinic Health System
  • Patient Online Services
  • Pay Bill Online
  • Request an Appointment
    • Services
    • Providers
    • Locations

      Minnesota

      • Adams
      • Albert Lea
      • Austin
      • Belle Plaine
      • Blooming Prairie
      • Butterfield
      • Caledonia
      • Cannon Falls
      • Fairmont
      • Faribault
      • Janesville
      • Kenyon
      • Lake City
      • Le Sueur
      • Mankato
      • Montgomery
      • New Prague
      • New Richland
      • Northfield
      • Owatonna
      • Plainview
      • Red Wing
      • Sherburn
      • St. James
      • St. Peter
      • Waseca
      • Waterville
      • Wells
      • Zumbrota

      Wisconsin

      • Arcadia
      • Barron
      • Bloomer
      • Chetek
      • Chippewa Falls
      • Eau Claire
      • Ellsworth
      • Glenwood City
      • Holmen
      • La Crosse
      • Menomonie
      • Mondovi
      • Onalaska
      • Osseo
      • Prairie du Chien
      • Rice Lake
      • Sparta
      • Tomah

      Iowa

      • Decorah
      • Lake Mills

      View map
    • Classes/Events
    • Blog
    • Wellness
    • Referrals
    • COVID-19
    • Influenza
    Posted By
    Jacob Erickson DO

    Jacob Erickson, D.O.

    Sports Medicine

    Recent Posts

    • Two people running on wooded trail
      Speaking of Health
      Why your IT band can be a pain in the leg
      November 11, 2022
    • John DiTulio
      Patient Stories
      Beat goes on for drummer with calcific tendonitis
      May 31, 2022
    • Hands holding knee joint while on gravel walking path
      Speaking of Health
      Staying active with joint pain
      April 27, 2022
    Featured Topics
    • Behavioral Health
    • Cancer
    • Children's Health (Pediatrics)
    • COVID-19
    • COVID-19 Vaccine
    • Exercise and Fitness
    • Heart Health
    • Men's Health
    • Neurosurgery
    • Obstetrics and Gynecology
    • Orthopedic Health
    • Weight Loss and Bariatric Surgery
    • Women's Health
    Join our email newsletter
    Speaking of Health
    Friday, March 12, 2021

    6 benefits of ultrasonic energy shoulder procedure

    Topics in this Post
    • Sports Medicine
    • Orthopedic Health
    Carrying log on shoulder

    Your shoulder is the most mobile joint in your body. It's a complex group of muscles and tendons that allows you to flex, extend and rotate your arms nearly 360 degrees.

    While it is a remarkable joint, you could begin to experience pain as you age. One of the more common causes of shoulder pain is called calcific tendonitis, and it occurs when calcium deposits build up in the tendons of your shoulder.

    Calcific tendonitis is most common in adults ages 40 to 60, and women have a higher risk for the condition. Symptoms include shoulder pain, stiffness and difficulty lifting your arm. For some people, this pain can interfere with their sleep.

    The goals of treating calcific tendonitis are to control your pain and reduce the inflammation. The first step often is rest and anti-inflammatory medications. If that doesn't resolve your symptoms, your health care provider may recommend conservative treatments, such as physical therapy or a cortisone injection.

    For many years, the final treatment option for refractory cases was surgery to remove the calcium deposits. Now there's a minimally invasive, nonsurgical option to help patients with calcific tendonitis. It involves using a needlelike device attached to ultrasound energy and saline irrigation, which gradually breaks up and aspirates the calcium deposit. This procedure is referred to as ultrasonic tenotomy and calcium deposit removal.

    The procedure uses ultrasound guidance to insert the device through a 3-millimeter incision in the skin down to the tendon. The device acts like a small jackhammer to precisely target and remove the calcium deposits. A doctor can perform an ultrasonic tenotomy in the clinic under local anesthesia, and no stitches are required.

    If you are weighing your options to treat calcific tendonitis, here are 6 benefits of ultrasonic tenotomy to know:

    1. Avoidance of surgery

    Generally, surgery and anesthesia are safe, but they involve the potential of risks or complications. Since ultrasonic tenotomy is completed in the clinic with local anesthesia, you avoid these potential complications and risks.

    2. Small incision

    Ultrasonic tenotomy uses a small incision that requires no stitches and will not develop a cosmetic scar. When you are done, you will leave with only a small bandage on your shoulder.

    3. Quick time to treatment

    Conventional surgery requires a presurgical medical exam with your primary care provider, and scheduling an operating room and team. This can add days or even weeks to your treatment time. With an ultrasonic tenotomy, a presurgical exam is not necessary, and it requires fewer staff, so scheduling typically is a quicker process.

    4. Short recovery time

    Most patients recover from an ultrasonic tenotomy two or three times quicker than conventional shoulder surgery. Most patients can resume daily activities with few restrictions in in a matter of weeks. Pain and symptoms gradually improve over a few weeks, and most patients are symptom-free in two to three months.

    5. No sling or brace required

    It is not necessary to keep the shoulder joint immobilized after an ultrasonic tenotomy so patients are not required to wear any bracing while they heal.

    6. Available to a wide range of patients

    An ultrasonic tenotomy presents fewer risks than conventional surgery, so it is available for patients who would otherwise not be medically suited for surgery. It puts less strain on the body, so it may be appropriate for patients who have heart disease, diabetes or other chronic health conditions.

    In addition to treating calcific tendonitis in the shoulder, ultrasonic tenotomy has proven effective in treating Achilles tendonitis; knee, elbow, hip and rotator cuff tendonitis; and plantar fasciitis.

    Jacob Erickson, D.O., is a Sports Medicine physician in Onalaska, Wisconsin.


    For the safety of our patients, staff and visitors, Mayo Clinic has strict masking policies in place. Anyone shown without a mask was either recorded prior to COVID-19 or recorded in a non-patient care area where social distancing and other safety protocols were followed.
    Topics in this Post
    • Sports Medicine
    • Orthopedic Health

    Related Posts

    hip-replacement-medical-illustration Should I have a hip replacement?
    Hands holding knee joint while on gravel walking path Staying active with joint pain
    John DiTulio Beat goes on for drummer with calcific tendonitis

    Stay Connected

    • Contact Us
    • Notice of Nondiscrimination
    • Notice of Privacy Practices
    • Terms of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • About Us
    • Careers
    • Volunteer
    • Donate
    • For Patients & Visitors
    • Financial Assistance
    • Community Resources
    • Mayo Clinic Connect
    • For Medical Professionals
    • Press Room
    • Mayo Clinic
    • Home
    © 2018 - 2023 Mayo Clinic Health System