Soft tissue displacer tool with inclined groove and methods

A soft tissue displacer tool for moving soft tissue away from bone, the soft tissue displacer tool comprising:

• a one-piece shaft that is elongate along a central axis, the shaft including a shaft body having a proximal end, a distal end that is spaced from the proximal end in a distal direction, and an outer shaft surface, the distal end defining a tip having a smooth outer tip surface that revolves an entire revolution about the central axis;
• wherein the shaft defines at least one helical groove that is recessed into the outer shaft surface toward the central axis and revolves about the central axis so as to define at least one helical protrusion that defines the outer surface of the shaft, whereby the at least one helical groove is defined between adjacent revolutions of the at least one protrusion about the central axis, and the helical groove (1) is inclined with respect to a plane that is normal to the central axis, and 2) terminates at a first end and a second end that is spaced from the first end along the distal direction, and the second end is spaced from the distal end along a proximal direction that is opposite the distal direction, and
• wherein the outer shaft surface revolves about the central axis at a fixed radius from the central axis as it extends along an entire circumferential distance between adjacent revolutions of the helical groove;
• a plurality of visual markings carried by the shaft at a fixed location between the first end of the helical groove and the second end of the helical groove, wherein the visual markings are visually accessible at the outer surface,
• wherein the shaft includes a distal facing cutting edge located between the second end of the at least one helical groove and the tip, the tip extends away from the cutting edge in the distal direction, the cutting edge extends out with respect to the tip in a direction away from the central axis, and the second end of the helical groove is spaced from the cutting edge in the proximal direction, and
• wherein the outer surface at the at least one protrusion is substantially smooth, such that the helical groove is configured to cause the soft tissue to move away from bone in the proximal direction as the shaft is rotated in the soft tissue once the soft tissue displacer has been driven into the bone.