Let’s take a look at tendinopathy.
AKA Tendonitis
Tendinopathy is irritation and pain localised in or around a tendon, which is a band of fibrous tissue that connects muscle to bone and transmits the force and action of the muscle. Injury is usually a repetitive strain, or overuse injury; but can also be an acute traumatic tearing.
Tendons are designed to withstand bending, stretching, and twisting, but they can become inflamed from traumatic injuries that leave them with torn fibres or other damage or, more commonly, fail to heal or scar following overuse.
The pain of tendinopathy can be significant and worsens if damage progresses because of continued inappropriate use of the joint. Most damage heals in about two to four weeks, but chronic tendinopathy can take more than six weeks, often because the sufferer doesn’t give the tendon time to heal. In chronic cases, there may be restriction of motion of the joint due to scarring or narrowing of the sheath of tissue that surrounds the tendon.
The POLICE protocol for tissue healing should be applied; with ice massage and the optimisation of the tendon load (rest, massage, gradual strengthening – finding the Goldilocks zone between too little and too much) being particularly useful forms of treatment for these conditions; whilst more severe or chronic cases may require steroid injections or even surgery.
#Tendonitis #Tendinopathy #Tenosynovitis #Tewkesbury
You can find out more here:
www.nhs.uk/conditions/tendonitis
www.sportsinjuryclinic.net/sport-injuries/general/tendonitis