This article was medically authored by Dr. AJ Valenson and last reviewed for accuracy on 11/02/2026.
The pain of tennis elbow can turn everyday activities into painful challenges. Whether you're grabbing a racket, playing golf, lifting groceries, working at a computer, or simply gripping a coffee mug, persistent elbow pain can interfere with your daily routine.
For people who haven't found lasting relief through rest, physical therapy, or medications, there are two nonsurgical treatments to consider: Transarterial Elbow Embolization (TAE) and platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections.
Both are designed to address persistent symptoms without traditional elbow surgery, but they work in very different ways.
At Texas Endovascular, our interventional radiologists offer TAE as a minimally invasive option for selected patients with chronic tennis elbow. In this post, we compare TAE vs PRP, to help you select the treatment option that best meets your needs.
Key Takeaways:
Tennis elbow, medically known as lateral epicondylitis or lateral elbow tendinopathy, occurs when the tendons connecting your forearm muscles to the outside of your elbow sustain damage due to repetitive stress and overuse.
Symptoms include:
Many cases improve with activity modification, appropriate exercise, and physical therapy. However, some people experience symptoms that persist for months. Often, that chronic pain results from degenerative changes in the tendon. Researchers have also identified abnormal small blood vessels, called neovessels, that develop around the damaged tissue, contributing to the discomfort. As a result, newer treatment options are designed to target this source of tennis elbow pain.
Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy is an injection-based treatment that uses a concentrated portion of your own blood.
When undergoing PRP for tennis elbow relief small sample of your blood is placed into a centrifuge to separate and concentrate your platelets. The resulting platelet-rich plasma is then injected into the affected tendon region. Since those platelets contain growth factors needed for tissue repair, the treatment is designed to help your body heal your damaged tendon in the weeks and months following your injection.
PRP Benefits:
Limitations:
The research on PRP’s efficacy for tennis elbow is mixed at best. Some studies suggest PRP may provide better long-term outcomes than corticosteroid injections. However, a 2026 meta-analysis of six randomized clinical trials involving 355 patients found no statistically significant improvement in pain or function with PRP compared with placebo at the evaluated follow-up periods.
PRP injections may also cause temporary pain or soreness at the injection site, and improvement. Also, while the treatment can help with tissue repair, PRP does nothing to address abnormal blood vessel development around your damaged tendons.
TAE is a minimally invasive, image-guided procedure designed to reduce abnormal blood flow associated with persistent tennis elbow pain.
Rather than injecting substances directly into your affected tendon, TAE targets the blood vessels supplying the painful area.
During the procedure, an interventional radiologist uses advanced imaging to guide a small catheter through an artery toward the elbow. Once your provider identifies the abnormal blood vessel network, he or she delivers embolic material to selectively reduce blood flow through the targeted vessels. The goal is to reduce the abnormal vascular activity that may contribute to persistent tendon pain.
Benefits of TAE:
TAE is an emerging treatment. Early clinical studies report improvements in pain and function following treatment, but larger randomized trials are still needed to establish how well it works compared with PRP, placebo procedures, and other treatments.
While neither procedure can guarantee relief, here are some factors to help you compare these treatment options:
As mentioned earlier, a 2026 meta-analysis found that PRP did not significantly outperform placebo for either pain relief or functional improvement in patients with chronic tennis elbow pain. In contrast, early TAE research is encouraging: a 2024 systematic review of embolization for several types of refractory tendinopathy also reported reductions in pain following treatment.
Following PRP treatment, you may experience temporary soreness or increased discomfort around the injection site. As such, you may need to avoid strenuous gripping, lifting, and repetitive wrist movements following your procedure, gradually returning to those activities as your tendon heals.
In contrast, discomfort following TAE is quite minimal, with most patients resuming normal activities within a day or two following treatment, even though full results take weeks or months to achieve, and you may need to avoid strenuous activities until your pain reduction becomes more noticeable.
Patients who have persistent tennis elbow symptoms after PRP injections may be candidates for additional treatment. Because PRP and TAE use different approaches, failing to find relief from the former won’t rule out the possibility that your pain will improve with TAE.
Both treatments allow you to avoid traditional open elbow surgery, but carry different risks.
PRP involves drawing blood and injecting it into the affected area. Potential complications include post-injection soreness, bleeding, and infection.
TAE involves placing a catheter into an artery and selectively treating small blood vessels. Potential complications include bruising, temporary worsening of pain, skin discoloration or injury, allergic reactions to contrast material, and blood vessel injury.
Patients can consider this treatment option if they have persistent chronic tennis elbow pain that has not responded to conservative treatments. You can pursue TAE, even if you’ve failed to find relief from a previous injection-based treatment such as PRP. Explore your candidacy by taking this quiz.
Coverage for either procedure depends on the insurance provider, individual plan, medical necessity requirements, and procedure coding. At Texas Endovascular, we accept most major insurance plans, and we help review your benefits to clarify your expected out-of-pocket costs before we schedule you for treatment.
Facing persistent tennis elbow pain? That doesn't mean that surgery is your only remaining option.
PRP injections and Transarterial Elbow Embolization take different approaches to chronic tendon pain. While PRP attempts to stimulate your body's repair response, TAE targets abnormal blood vessels associated with persistent symptoms.
For patients who haven’t found sufficient relief through traditional treatments, TAE may offer another minimally invasive option worth exploring.
The specialists at Texas Endovascular can review your symptoms, previous treatments, and medical history to help determine whether TAE may be appropriate.
Ready to explore your options for chronic tennis elbow relief?
Learn more about TAE for tennis elbow or contact Texas Endovascular to request a consultation at one of our eight locations in the greater Houston and Dallas regions.
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