Tendonitis occurs when a tendon becomes inflamed. It’s also a relatively common condition caused by overuse, injury, repetitive movement, or prolonged periods of inactivity. As such, it’s no surprise that over 70,000 adults in the U.S. miss work every year due to tendonitis. Although tendonitis can resolve itself, it can eventually lead to chronic pain as well as a limited range of motion if left untreated. As such, you must receive a proper diagnosis so that you can take steps to manage your condition.
What is Tendonitis?
Tendonitis is a type of tendinopathy, which is a general term for any condition involving tendons. The tendons are thick fibrous cords that attach muscle to bone. Tendons help your muscles move and support your joints, but when they become inflamed and irritated from overuse or injury, it can lead to tendon pain, soreness, swelling, and limited mobility. Tendonitis can affect any of the many tendons in the body; however, it is most common in the shoulders, elbows, wrists, hips, knees, and ankles because these are the areas where movements are repeated most frequently.
It’s important to note that tendonitis differs from tendinosis, a chronic degenerative condition of the tendon due to repetitive strain and overuse. While tendonitis can often be treated with home remedies or physical therapy, tendinosis often requires medical attention.
Common Types of Tendonitis
These include:
Achilles Tendonitis
This type of tendonitis affects the Achilles tendon, which is located in the back of your ankle. Achilles tendonitis is usually caused by intense physical activity such as running and jumping or spending too much time on your feet during activities like walking and standing. Achilles tendonitis can affect people of any age, but it’s prevalent in athletes who participate in sports involving a lot of running and jumping.
Peroneal Tendonitis
This is a type of tendonitis that affects the two tendons in your lower leg — the peroneus longus and the peroneus brevis. Peroneal tendonitis can be caused by high-impact activities such as running or jumping, but it can also be caused by ankle instability due to an injury or incorrect footwear choices.
Posterior Tibial Tendonitis
This type of tendonitis affects the posterior tibial tendon, which is located on the inside of your foot and ankle. Posterior tibial tendonitis can cause pain and swelling in the arch of your foot and heel, and it’s usually caused by conditions such as flat feet or high arches.
Symptoms of Tendonitis
Lump on the Tendon: If you can feel a lump on your tendon, it could be a sign of inflammation or an injury.
Tendon Swelling: Tendonitis can cause the area around the tendon to swell as a result of the inflammation.
Pain and Tenderness: If you have tendonitis, you may experience dull or sharp pain around the affected area.
Decreased Range of Motion: Tendonitis can limit your range of motion.
Causes of Tendonitis
There are many potential causes of tendonitis, including:
- Strenuous Activities: Any activity that puts an excessive strain on your tendons can cause tendonitis.
- Poor Posture: Maintaining poor posture over a long period of time can lead to strained and inflamed tendons.
- Certain Medications: Some medications can interfere with healing.
- Repetitive Movements: Any repetitive motion can cause tendonitis.
- Injury or Trauma: Trauma to the tendon can cause inflammation.
- Rheumatoid Arthritis: This autoimmune condition can cause tendon inflammation.
Treatment Options
Traditional doctors will often recommend one or more of the following treatment options:
Immobilization
For less severe cases, immobilization techniques can help.
Physical Therapy
Physical therapy can strengthen and stretch affected tissues.
NSAIDs
NSAIDs reduce pain and inflammation but do not heal the tendon.
Orthopedic Surgery
Surgery may be recommended in severe cases but carries risks.
The Neurofunctional Pain Management Approach To Tendonitis Pain
Simply treating the symptoms will only provide short-term relief from tendonitis pain. That’s why the Relatyv Neurofunctional Pain Management approach focuses not only on treating the symptoms but also on identifying and addressing the underlying cause of your pain. By treating pain at its source, this approach aims to provide long-lasting relief.
Additionally, our protocol takes a whole-person approach to pain management using a variety of modalities that are non-invasive, non-surgical, and drug-free.
Conquer Tendonitis And Embrace Optimal Healing
We know that tendonitis can be debilitating and interfere with your daily life. Using a Relatyv Neurofunctional Pain Management approach allows us to identify and address the root cause of your pain while providing you with drug-free, non-invasive therapies to help reduce inflammation and provide long-term relief.