Tendinopathy is a painful condition that can affect one or more tendons in the body, causing stiffness, inflammation, and discomfort. Diagnosis by a doctor is recommended, and treatment may include rest, ice, exercises, and gradually returning to normal activities. To reduce the risk of tendinopathy, it’s important to warm up before exercising and perform activities in the correct positions.
Tendinopathy is an umbrella term that could refer to either tendinosis or tendinitis, and sometimes both. In tendinosis, a person has small tears in the affected tendon. Tendonitis usually has a large amount of swelling in the tendons that could cause pain. To confuse matters, when doctors describe tendinopathy, it’s not a condition that means the tendons have swollen significantly. However it manifests itself and can affect many tendons in the body, it is painful, needs treatment and will require some recovery time.
Typically tendinopathy occurs in only one tendon and this could be near a knee, in the foot, around a shoulder or in other places. However, the pain and symptoms tend to be limited to a specific area. The affected area of the body may feel stiff and pain may occur whenever that area of the body is used. Some people find that the area throbs at night and is especially uncomfortable in the morning. There may also be minor inflammation, redness or a feeling of extra warmth.
These symptoms could be associated with many different injuries that don’t even involve tendons. The best solution to this is to get a tendinopathy diagnosis confirmed by a doctor, particularly when the pain persists for more than a day. A doctor can gently examine the area, find out if any activity might have caused the injury, and possibly order scans such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computed axial tomography (CAT), or just an X-ray, to look for signs of injury or swelling.
If tendinopathy were to be diagnosed, doctors might ask people to use ice packs several times a day and combine it with the rest of the affected area. If the pain isn’t too significant, doctors can teach you exercises that can help with muscle stiffness. Sometimes, a doctor wants a patient to wait a few days before starting these. As the pain subsides, people can gradually return to normal activities, but sometimes it can take a few months for the pain to go away completely. Engaging in activity means going slow to make sure you don’t injure the tendon further.
Many people wonder how to avoid tendinopathy. The condition can occur in very fit people who exercise frequently or it could happen to those who are not very active. It may not always be possible to avoid tendinopathy, but the likelihood of developing it may be reduced by a few things.
It’s important to warm up before exercising, as this puts less stress on the tendons. Another tip may be to make sure you carry out the activities in the correct positions, since repeated “wrong movements” could cause small tendon injuries. Those who are less active should slowly build to more intense exercise, paying attention along the way for the body’s signals that something may be wrong.
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