Description

Tendinitis is the inflammation of the thick fibrous cords that attach muscle to bone. These cables are called tendons. The condition causes pain and tenderness just outside a joint.

Tendinitis can occur in any tendon. But it's most common around your shoulders, elbows, wrists, knees and heels.

The majority of tendonitis can be treated with rest, physical therapy, and medications to reduce pain. Long-term inflammation of the tendon can cause a tendon to tear. A tear in the tendon may require surgery.

Symptoms

The symptoms of tendonitis tends to occur when a tendon attaches to a bone. Often, symptoms include:

  • The pain, often described as a dull pain, especially when moving the pain of a limb or joint
  • Tenderness
  • Mild swelling

When to see a doctor

Most cases of tendonitis respond to self-care. Consult your health care provider if the symptoms do not subside after a couple of days and if you stand in the way of daily activities.

Causes

Tendonitis can be caused by a sudden injury. But repeat the same movement on the time it is much more likely the cause. Most people will develop tendinitis due to their jobs or hobbies that involve movements that are repeated, again and again. This puts stress on the tendons.

Moves correctly, it is especially important when the repetition of movements for sports or work. Moving incorrectly may strain the tendon and lead to tendinitis.

Risk factors

Risk factors for the development of tendonitis are older, have jobs that involve doing the same motion over and over again, doing physical activities with the lack of form, and taking certain medicines.

Age

As people get older, their tendons become less flexible, which makes them more easy to damage.

Work

Tendonitis is most common in people such as gardeners and manual laborers, whose jobs involve:

  • Repetitive movements
  • Awkward postures
  • A lot of overhead reach
  • Vibration
  • Forced displacement

Activities

When performing physical activities, the following factors may increase the risk of tendonitis:

  • Sudden increase in the amount or difficulty of the training
  • Lack of equipment, such as old shoes
  • Hard surfaces, such as concrete or gym floors
  • Very little recovery time after an injury or too little time to get used to the activity again after a time out of
  • Poor posture or movements of the body

Medical condition and medications

Certain medical conditions, like diabetes, can increase the risk of tendinitis. Medications that may increase risk include:

  • Antibiotics known as fluoroquinolines
  • Corticosteroids, such as cortisone
  • Aromatase inhibitors are used to lower the risk of breast cancer

Complications

Without treatment, tendonitis can increase the risk of a tendon rupture or tear. A completely torn tendon may require surgery.

Prevention

To reduce the likelihood of developing tendinitis, follow these suggestions:

  • Easily. Avoid activities that put too much stress on the tendons, especially for long periods of time. If you have pain during exercise, stop and rest.
  • Mix. If an exercise or activity that causes pain, try something else. Cross-training can help the mixture of high-impact exercise, such as running with less impact on the exercise, such as bicycling or swimming.
  • Improve the way you move. If how-to do an activity or exercise is defective, you could be setting yourself up for problems with your tendons. Consider taking lessons or getting professional advice when starting a new sport or the use of exercise equipment.
  • Stretch. After the exercise, move your joints through full range of motion. The best time to stretch is after exercise, when the muscles are warm.
  • Move to the right in the workplace. Make sure that your chair, keyboard, and desktop is positioned correctly for your height, the length of the arm and of the tasks they do. This will help to protect the joints and tendons of stress.
  • Prepare your muscles for playing. The strengthening of the muscles used in your sport or activity may help them to withstand the load better.

Diagnosis

Usually, a physical exam alone can diagnose tendinitis. X-rays or other imaging tests may be used to rule out other conditions that could be causing the symptoms.

Treatment

The objectives of the tendonitis treatment is to relieve pain and reduce irritation. Self-care, including rest, ice and pain relievers, may be all you need. But full recovery can take several months.

Drugs

Medications used to treat tendonitis include:

  • Pain relievers. Aspirin, naproxen sodium (Aleve), ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin IB, others) or acetaminophen (Tylenol, others), can relieve the pain of tendonitis. Some of these medications can cause stomach upset or kidney or liver problems. Creams that contain pain relievers can be applied to the skin. These products can help alleviate the pain and avoid the side effects of taking these drugs orally.
  • Steroids. A steroid injection around the tendon may help to relieve the pain of tendonitis. These photos are not for the tendinitis lasting more than three months. Repeated injections of steroids can weaken the tendon and increase the risk of tendon rupture.
  • Platelet-rich Plasma. This treatment involves taking a sample of your own blood and the spinning of the blood to separate out the platelets and other healing factors. The solution is then injected into the area of the chronic irritation of the tendons. Although the research is still ongoing to find the best way for the use of platelet-rich plasma, has shown promise in the treatment of many chronic tendon conditions.

Physical therapy

Physical therapy exercises can help to strengthen the muscle and the tendon. Eccentric strengthening, which emphasizes the contraction of a muscle is lengthened, it is an effective treatment for many chronic tendon conditions.

Surgical and other procedures

In situations where physical therapy has not resolved the symptoms, your doctor may suggest:

  • Dry needling. This procedure is usually performed with ultrasound to guide, involves making small holes in the tendon with a fine needle to stimulate the factors involved in tendon healing.
  • Surgery. Depending on the severity of your injury in the tendon, surgical repair may be necessary, especially if the tendon has torn away from the bone.

Lifestyle and home remedies

For the treatment of tendonitis in your house, use rest, ice, compression and elevation. This treatment can help to speed up recovery and help prevent further problems.

  • Rest. Avoid doing things that increase the pain, or swelling. Don't try to work or to play through the pain. Healing requires rest, but does not include bed rest. You can do other activities and exercises that do not stress the injured tendon. Swimming and exercising in the water can be a good option.
  • Of ice. To decrease pain, muscle spasm and swelling, apply ice to the injured area for 20 minutes several times a day. Ice packs, ice massage, or sleet bathrooms with ice and water, can all help. For an ice massage, freeze a paper cup full of water so that you can hold the cup while applying the ice directly on the skin.
  • Compression. Due to the swelling can cause the loss of movement in an injured joint, wrap the area in firmly until the swelling stops. The use of wraps or elastic bandages.
  • Elevation. If the tendinitis affects the knee, raise the injured leg above heart level to reduce swelling.

Although the rest is a key to the treatment of tendinitis, do not move the joints can cause them to become stiff. After a few days of rest the injured area, gently move through their full range of motion to keep the joints flexible.

Preparing for your appointment

You could start by talking with your family doctor. But you may be referred to a specialist in sports medicine, or rheumatology in the treatment of conditions that affect the joints.

What you can do

You can write a list that includes:

  • Details about your symptoms
  • Other medical problems that I have had
  • Medical problems of their parents, brothers and sisters have had
  • All of the medications and vitamins you are taking, including dose
  • Questions you want to ask the doctor

For tendinitis, some basic questions to ask include:

  • What is the most likely cause of my symptoms?
  • There are other possible causes?
  • What tests do I need?
  • What treatment do you recommend it?
  • I have other medical problems. Best how can I manage together?
  • I have to limit my activities?
  • What self-care I can do at home?

What to expect from your doctor

Your provider is likely to ask you questions, such as:

  • Where do you feel the pain?
  • When the pain started?
  • Did it start all at once or little by little?
  • What kind of work do you do?
  • What are your hobbies? What do you do for fun?
  • Thou hast been instructed in the correct way to do the activity?
  • The pain occur or worsen during certain activities, such as kneeling or climbing stairs?
  • Have you recently had a fall, or another type of injury?
  • What treatments have been tried in the house?
  • What were the treatments?
  • What, in any case, it makes your symptoms better?
  • What, in any case, it makes your symptoms worse?
Symptoms and treatment of Tendonitis